For those who came in late, the strategy seems to have worked exceedingly well with the film mopping up an impressive collection both in Mumbai and non-metro centres. As Khan points out, the trip created awareness about the film in the Hindi belt – UP, MP and Bihar – states that share a fascination for gaining admission to engineering colleges. Tamil Nadu in South India that could count a close rival was also paid a visit by Khan. His original choice of venue - the Officers’ Training Academy, after being denied permission, changed to the temples in Mahabalipuram. Not that it rattled the actor, for he did the next best thing. Khan, also a brand ambassador for Indian tourism's Incredible India campaign put the opportunity to good use and recorded a message asking people to refrain from spitting or defacing the monuments.
It is not without reason that the superstar in the last three years has earned a reputation as a marketing maverick of sorts. Khan is quick to deconstruct this recent positioning. "I enjoy movies and movie making and marketing is just a part of that. Marketing, essentially, is telling people to watch the movie I have made. Therefore, how I communicate this thought to the audience makes a world of difference. So anyone who is marketing his film, his enthusiasm or the lack of it, comes through in a very intangible manner and the audience senses that. For me, the answer is always in the material, so you go back to the material and ask, what have we made? The idea of me disappearing came from 3 Idiots."
In personal life too, Khan confesses to being a follower of knowledge and not degrees. "I went to N.M.College Of Commerce, but that's not where I completed my education. My education started as an assistant director when I started learning about cinema and filmmaking. I explained to my family that quitting college did not mean I would stop learning. Till then I was just taking exams. My thirst for knowledge is education. Today when I want to know about history, I read. Teaching yourself about what you want to know by discovering, challenging, learning and unlearning; that's education… Not a piece of paper that says you are a graduate," he reiterates.
The recent road trip made him wiser about the hinterland audience as well. For one, he realised that Hindi film stars don't make the cut when it comes to audience in South India. His Tamil guide was oblivious of Bollywood's Khan brigade-the only Hindi film he had watched was Shalimar! And it would be too simplistic to even put this down to a North-South divide: the movie watching demographic, he says, is far more splintered.
"If you look at the Hindi belt, there are a whole lot of people who have moved away from Hindi films. They have moved towards Bhojpuri cinema because they feel more connected with it. So when a Ghajini comes along they might watch it because they connect with that sensibility but not all our movies. I hope they can relate to a film like 3 Idiots. They have a great will to do well for themselves."
The generosity of people is also something that impressed him. "People met me with so much warmth everywhere. They were welcoming and hospitable though they didn't know who I was. In Varanasi, the whole mohalla was out to help me look for my mother's house. It was like a baton being passed from one to another. For two-and-a-half hours I was chatting with them. It set me thinking whether I would leave my work to help someone find his mother's house? That's what they did."
An interesting bit is how the actor mixes it all up. Peepli Live, a satire on village life, will soon premiere at Sundance Festival followed by other international festivals in order to create awareness among the global audience.
"I am also trying to sell it in North America and Europe and once that happens, I will fix the release date in India. Wife Kiran's directorial venture Dhobi Ghaat and Delhi Belly, an English comedy, are also in the pipeline, " he informs.
In 2010, things will be quieter, he says, with more family time with his kids.
"I will devote myself in the coming year to my three films as a producer. Unfortunately they were delayed because of 3 Idiots so I won't be taking up any acting assignment. This year, I will start reading scripts to figure what excites me - either as a director or actor
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