10 Times Bollywood Actors Used Bizarre Promotional Strategies to Promote Their Films

Bollywood is one of the biggest film industries in the world, with over than 1000 movies released every year! Just a big name associated with the movie is not enough to drive the audience to the movie theatre.

As a result, promotional strategies come to rescue and celebs leave no stone unturned in grabbing the attention of the audience. The desire to create buzz around their movies, celebs and filmmakers opt for more creative (read: bizarre) ways to promote their movies.

From giving haircuts to people, wearing a prosthetic baby bump, dubsmashing, travelling across India in a train, reality TV show appearances, to visiting colleges, Bollywood is trying out different strategies to sell their films. While some promotional stints are moderate and understated, others are just OTT.

We'll take you down the memory lane and tell you some quirky techniques, celebrities used to market their movies.

1. Bipasha Basu

Bipasha Basu's movie Raaz 3, which was based on superstitions and the actor was seen distributing lemon and chillies to her fans, while promoting the movie. Quiet weird, right?

2. Sonam Kapoor

Thank the first lady of fashion in Bollywood, Sonam Kapoor, to bring the dubsmash trend in Bollywood. Sonam asked her fans to share a dubsmash video of them dancing on the title song of her movie, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo. Her strategy was so succesful that it quickly became popular and started trending on social media. Not only fans, but many famous celebrities took her challenge and shook a leg on her popular song. Smart move, Sonam!

Watch Jacqueline Fernandez's cute dubsmash with her cat, Miu Miu.

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3. Aamir Khan

Hands down, Aamir Khan can be called the marketing Guru of Bollywood. Not only once, but his movie promotional ideas are always BANG ON!

From shaving people's head while promoting his movie Ghajini, to launching the first poster of PK that saw him wearing just a stereo, Aamir Khan has been a pro at promoting movies.

4. Vidya Balan

While promoting her film Bobby Jasoos, Vidya Balan dressed as a beggar and sat amongst the beggars outside Hyderabad Railway Station. Reportedly, a woman, who mistook her for a beggar, scolded her for not working and taking the easy way out. BTW, she also wore a fake baby bump while promoting her movie Kahaani.

5. Alia Bhatt

The Internet went in a frenzy when Alia Bhatt announced her engagement on social media. Only after reading the full image, fans were relieved that it was just a publicity gimmick and nothing more than that.

6. Hritik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Katrina Kaif

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was one movie which set friendship goals for all of us. The cast of the movie Hritik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Katrina Kaif cashed in on the theme of the movie and carried out a road trip from Mumbai to Delhi to promote the film.

7. Shah Rukh Khan

Does a movie even need a smart marketing strategy if it has a name like SHAH. RUKH. KHAN.? Well, SRK thinks differently. His promotions have always been grand, just like his movies. To promote the movie Happy New Year, the whole cast participated in the SLAM World Tour (Yes, a WORLD TOUR), which went on for a month.

8. Sunny Leone

This was one odd promotional stint. Before the release of Sunny Leone's movie, Ragini MMS 2, many auto rickshaws across the country read - "Ragini Ka MMS Dekha Kya?" (Did you watch Ragini's MMS?), to create hype around the movie. The movie was a huge success and we're sure the Google searches for 'Ragini MMS' must have shot up!

To promote her movie Jism 2, the makers had put her undergarments up for auction. Yeah, that's right, her under garments!

9. Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor

While promoting Tamasha, Deepika Padukone and Ranbir Kapoor travelled by train from Mumbai to Delhi — and for obvious reasons, their train journey got a lot of media attention.

10. Aamir Khan

We don't mind featuring Aamir Khan on the list again, but, taking a record of his promotional tactics, he earns another spot. While promoting 3 Idiots, the actor went missing for two weeks. Reportedly, he was making disguised appearances in small cities. Sachin Tendular, Saurav Ganguli and Kareena Kapoor Khan supported the actor in this unique promotional strategy and dropped hints about his whereabouts.

Fun fact: Aamir Khan does not hold a marketing degree of any sort.