MUMBAI: Marathi films today are gaining immense popularity among the Hindi and English cinema loving public as a result of the large scale social media campaigns backing them. One such case is that of Riteish Deshmukh’s latest Marathi debut film Lai Bhaari. The film took Marathi cinema to a whole new level and opened to a full house on the 11 June 2014 and is still going strong in theaters even two weeks after its release.

Jeetendra Thackeray, producer of Lai Bhaar on the success of the movie said, “This is the first time a Marathi movie has garnered a response among the audience that so far only Hindi action packed blockbusters with A list star cast enjoyed. Everyone, including Marathi, Hindi and English cinema goers showed interest in the movie and there’s a reason for that. Online marketing and social media helped us connect with our audience in a way no other Marathi movie has done before. The response was massive. Interesting campaigns, enticing contests and easy steps to book tickets has actually changed the scenario for us and we are thrilled! Ritiesh’s stardom and his promotional tours across the state have also fuelled our online campaigns further.”

A full-fledged digital media campaign was carried out to promote the film to its audience. As a part of this strategy, a number of engagement activities were carried out. These included the selfie contest where users were asked to submit their Lai Bhaari selfies on the film’s official social media properties. Dialogue promos from the film depicting the fiery Mauli were released giving the audience a glimpse of the character portrayed by the inimitable Riteish Deshmukh.

A countdown to the film’s release executed in the form of cover pictures (updated daily) on Facebook also helped keep the anticipation levels on an all-time high in the minds of cine-goers. All communication regarding the path-breaking film was disseminated in Marathi to target the relevant target audiences. Additionally, a dedicated tab gave all users the ability to book tickets right off the bat from the Facebook page.

Marathi cinema has always been characteristic of quality cinema; however, this is the first time that a film like Lai Bhaari has been created with a commercial potboiler perspective in mind. While this has been a first for Marathi Cinema, it has also been a first for the way the film was marketed.

Everymedia Technologies has executed the social media campaign for the movie.