Chhapaak Movie Marketing as powerful as the movie theme?

A look at Chhapaak Movie Marketing strategy - understanding how the brand made acid attack survivors the center of all the action.

Touted to be a tale that inspires and empowers, Chhapaak has managed to garner attention. Based on the true story of Laxmi Agarwal, the movie showcases the story of Malti. 

Directed by Meghna Gulzar and the first production venture, Bold and the Beautiful, Deepika Padukone is the protagonist of the movie with Vikrant Massey, in collaboration with Fox Star Studios.

While the film traces the untold journey of the acid attack survivor, Malti, we bring to you the Chahhpaak movie marketing efforts.

Malti - The Face of Hope

The makers announced the beginning of the shoots in March 2019.

Teaser

With minimalistic designs, the makers released the announcement of the trailer with social media. The agony the victims of acid attack face is depicted with the color 'black' coupled with the splash on the screen in the short video.

Untelling the Untold Story

Fox Star Studios revealed Chhapaak's trailer on 10th December 2019. The trailer managed to trace the journey of Malti, from her agony to the feeling of elation after the triumph on life.

The movie marketers launched the trailer a month before the final movie release on 10th January 2020.

Unveiling the Posters

The movie marketers made sure that the movie-buzz was kept alive with the release of the posters on digital.

Snipping the snippets- Dialogue Promos

Chhapaak's trailer makes one feel a multitude of emotions. With the underlying subject matter of, "When life hits you back, hit it back even harder", the movie marketers attempt to capture each stage of the protagonist and share a step-by-step social media posts with the dialogue promos from the film.

Vacancy hai?

Silent Pyar

Shor Ki Aadat Daal Lo

Milta Nahi Toh Phikta Nahi

The movie marketers soon released the title track for Chhapaak in the voice of Arijit Singh and directed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Not swaying from the subject of the movie and being on-track with the theme, Chhapaak leveraged on the melodic numbers to promote the movie.

Chhapaak Title Track

#NokJhok

Attempting to capture the essence of ‘Love beyond beauty’, something with substance than mere small talks, Nok Jhok was launched to weave the relationship between Malti and Amol.

The marketers posted social media content with hashtag #NokJhok with a sunny take that maybe all is not lost in the world.

Also read: A Dabangg marketing strategy?

Brand Collabs, Social media Campaigns, BTS

The movie marketers for Chhapaak came up with a slew of campaigns in-line with the theme of the film.

Social Experiment

In an attempt to gauge the reaction of people towards victims of traumatic incidents, Deepika Padukone and some real-life Acid Attack Victims went on a social experiment campaign- "Be the Change you want to see".

The thought behind this was that people tend to say a lot of things on the lines of being the change but the question that constantly arises is that are they really willing to make the change?

#MuhDikhai 2.0

This BTS showcasing the 4 real-life acid attack survivors, also making appearances in the movie aims to thread the theme of being bold and fearless. Through this campaign, the makers want to convey that it is what is inside that matters and forms the essence of real beauty with #MuhDikhai 2.0.

The director and actors unite to portray this message through this BTS content. Muh Dikhai 2.0 promoted inclusivity in true sense with the fact that when such victims can smile at us without hesitation, it is time that we smile back at them. 

#SkinofCourage- Joy Sensitive

RSH Global under its brand name of Joy, tied with Chhapaak to launch a range of products for sensitive skin of Acid Attack victims. #SkinOfCourage leveraged the core message of the movie to release its special products.

#AbLadnaHai

Words stir emotions like no others. And when we speak about words and lyrics, one of the first names that come to the mind is the living-legend ‘Gulzar Saab’. 

A poetic expression by the maestro, #AbLadnaHai is quintessential to the core emotions that can be like a guiding light for the much-needed change in the society when it comes to such victims and the Bravehearts.

The inspiring poem narrated by the lead actors calls upon the people to make the very foundation for change and try to get awakened. Here, not just the father of Meghna Gulzar, but the poet, Gulzar Saab pours his heart out through his words. Movie marketers leverage this emotional route of communication to present the tale to the audience.

Impact Guru stands by Chhapaak

As the film’s official Healthcare Crowdfunding Partner, ImpactGuru urges the audience to support medical causes. The brand aims to make medical facilities affordable and empower acid attack survivors in the process.

The message for the campaign is conveyed through the voice of Deepika Padukone where she says, “Jis tarah aap Malti ke mushkilein samajhte hai, ImpactGuru aapki mushkilein samajhta hai.”

Khushboo Jain, Co-Founder, and COO, ImpactGuru.com said, “We are pleased to associate with an inspiring film such as Chhapaak. Just like Deepika’s character Malti emerges victorious fighting the toughest of battles, ImpactGuru aims to bring about positive outcomes in the interest of everyone who fights any medical emergency, be it acid attack, cancer, or accident.”

Bharosa Medlife Ka?

This healthcare brand partnered with the movie aiming to position itself as the ‘genuine medicines’ through the voice of Deepika Padukone.

#ContestAlert with BookMyShow

The platform aimed to drive bookings through this quirky campaign questioning the viewers what inspires them to watch Chhapaak with #ChhapaakOnBMS hashtag.

Stories that matter

Another BTS attempt by the makers showcases how did Chhapaak come into being in the first place to present the stories that need to be told.

Delhi embraces Chhapaak

Here’s another BTS attempt by the movie makers tracing the journey of the ‘making of Chhapaak’ shot in the heart of the nation, Delhi.

The Femina ‘Unstoppable’

#DPism - Priya Varrier Style

This is a BTS posted on social media that kept the buzz alive. Such bits were perpetually posted by the actors and marketers to keep the movie rolling in the minds of the audiences.

Television & Celebrity Collaborations

The marketers took the usual TV & celebrity collaboration route with the cast appearing on various screens.

Kapil Sharma Show

MissMalini on the roll

StarScreen awards

Deepika on TikTok

Aiming to reach the audience from Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, the actress went on Tiktok to establish the promotion efforts for the movie on the platform.

@deepikapadukone

See you at the cinemas this Friday! Advance bookings are now open... book now!♥ #chhapaak

♬ original sound - deepikapadukone

In the ire of controversy

With the latest news of Padukone reaching Delhi to support JNU students, divided social media with many angered by the decision and many supporting her. Soon, #Boycott_Chhapaak and #BlockDeepika started trending. Following soon was #ISupportDeepika.

While people seem to be divided in their opinion, debating whether this was a genuine gesture or a publicity stunt, it certainly grabbed eyeballs.

#Boycott_Chhapaak

#ISupportDeepika

Reactions to the preview

Despite opinions and some controversies, the movie was specially screened on 9th Jan 2020 and garnered many responses, tilting mostly towards positive.

Support for NGO members

Led by some of the real-life victims turned victors, filmmaker Meghna Gulzar & team visited Sheroes Homes. This was showcased to the Twitterati.

Deepika Speaks

The actor has had a deep emotional stance on the subject. The below social media post caught our eyes

And it’s a wrap-up!

As we traced the journey of Chhapaak movie marketing, the common observations have been content-driven on-ground campaigns leveraging realism based on the theme of the film. The strategy focussed on Acid Attack survivors as the true hero and aimed at bringing about a change in people's perception towards it.

However, with the recent controversy in action, is the marketing strategy strong enough to drive theater footfalls?