Shahrukh Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer Jab Harry Met Sejal will hit the screens on 4th August. With one month left in release, the pre-release buzz of the film is on the lower side.
SRK and Red Chillies Entertainment has opted for a unique promotional strategy for JHMS where they are releasing mini trails. This trick has failed big time and it will not be wrong to say that this has backfired to some extent. So far four mini trails and one song promo is out and none of them has anything special.
These promos featured some random dialogues or conversation between the lead and there is no hint of the story. The family audience might stay away after watching the second promo. It is looking like an urban rom-com which might appeal towards only a limited section of the audience. Another problem was their accent and dialogue delivery. Some might even find it tough to understand it.
The director Imtiaz Ali mostly makes films for the multiplex audience. So when he announced a film with SRK, there were some concerns in trade about its appeal. However, SRK made it clear that JHMS will be a universally appealing love story. But now after the release of mini trails, it is looking like an urban film.
There was no need for experimenting something like this for a risky film. Ideally, they should have made a well-balanced trailer having some fun elements and romance. They could have attached it to Tubelight. And then they should have released the songs one by one. The film had terrific music reports and yet only song is out so far.
A good trailer is a must for a film to have a good initial. Tubelight is a recent example which could not open well despite the presence of India’s biggest superstar. The audience has become smart these days so they can anticipate what is in the stores by looking promos. When romcoms are not working anymore then one wonders that why RCE is trying to give the impression that it is a rom-com.
Jab Harry Met Sejal was preponed to 4th August to avoid the clash with Akshay Kumar’s Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Still, it can pose a threat in the second week of JHMS. So a good initial is a must for SRK starrer to survive at the box office. The makers need to act quickly otherwise this could be SRK’s lowest opening till date.