Movie Trailers: First Impression Is The Last Impression

By Author: Dips Dixon
Total Articles: 71
Comment this article

Consider these snippets - A clock moving in fast motion, students filling up a classroom, a man scribbling numbers feverishly on the blackboard, another one turning and saying Humne toh bachpan se yehin suna tha ki life ek race hai and then running through a crowded airport! You must have guessed by now what I have been talking about. Yes, it is a part of the trailer of the superhit movie 3 Idiots! The trailer continues and shows us the two other heroes who talk about races again and the three of them run together this time. It finally ends with the iconic All Izz Well song playing in the background and showing a girl in a wedding dress charging on a scooter, a middle aged man cycling furiously and with the famous butt scratching and rainfall in the bathroom scenes!

Now, let's see if you can guess which movie I am talking about!
Hum Yahan ke Robinhodd hain. Robinhood Pandey. Then you see Salman Khan donning police uniform, performing daredevil stunts and delivering some witty dialogs like: Policewaale ko Thokne ka Anjam Pata Hay Kya Hain? Ikkis saal jail or Thukahi alag se. Aur usi Police waale ne tumko thoka ...
... to promotion alag se aur bahaduri ka medal bhi. Industry experts believe that one of the reasons why Dabangg became a craze even before it released was due to its promos.

Let's take another example. A dialogue between a girl and a boy:
Guy: Hello, do you remember (big pause) me?
Girl (with a bored expression): Line mar raha hai?...mere paas love-shav ke liye time nahin hai.
..
Guy: Promise, main kabhi friendship ke aage nahin bolunga.
Girl: Aj friends bol rahan hai, kal I love you bol dega!
The above too is from another trailer and if you haven't guessed it, it's from Band Baaja Baaraat. It continues with a few excerpts in fast motion: the couple opening a store, elaborate weddings taking place, a little bit of dance with the title track in the background and finally ends with another dialogue, this time the girl giving so called gyan to the guy, Business ka first rule, jiske saath vyapar karo, usse kabhi na pyaar karo.

There's no doubt that movie trailers are like advertisements. One can even call movie trailers as very short synopsis of the movies. The excerpts are artfully brought together to give the viewers a brief insight into the plot, the strengths of the movie, songs and star cast. Sometimes the production houses and marketing strategists add a surprise element to the movie and keep the pivotal character of the movie out of the promos. It's thus, basically a promotional tool needed to create a flutter before the movie's release.