BENGALURU: For the past few days, the hashtag #OndallaEradalla has been doing rounds on social media. For Kannada film buffs, the title would immediately ring a bell as the second movie of the director, D Satyaprakash, who made the well-received Kannada indie movie, Rama Rama Re.
However, for those who do not follow the local film industry, it is an attempt at a new kind of publicity campaign for the movie Satya Sangathi, and one that is being tried for the first time says Satyaprakash. With the #OndallaEradalla, the director’s team has been disseminating small snippets of facts and general knowledge that may be confusing to some, primarily because the facts have no relation to the hashtag.
However, Satyaprakash explains the logic behind the campaign, “The movie is full of new-comers. If I put their photos and videos, it will not grab the attention of people immediately. The aim of the hashtag and fact dissemination campaign is to first make the title of the movie viral and reach out to as many people as possible.”
He adds, “Not everyone is interested in movies, however, general knowledge and facts are something that people are interested in. I feel if I share these instead of movie promotion bits, people will be even more interested. It is a fresh idea that we are trying.”
An example would post such as the following, which have already been shared — #OndallaEradalla — Nearly 200 Kannada films are released per year, however, it all started with Sati Sulochana that was released in 1934. Another one reads, #OndallaEradalla — Did you know the total number of villages in Karnataka is 29,406. According to Satyaprakash, the facts can be on various topics — be it films, sports, science, or politics.
Satyaprakash says that one fact will be shared per day with the hashtag on various social media platforms. “This was started a week back, so the content is yet to go viral. There have been a total of seven posts like this till date, and so far, we have seen interest in the form of likes, shares and comments from some 1,000 people,” he adds.
The fact-sharing campaign will intensify a few days before the movie releases. Satyaprakash says the movie is likely to release in August, and 15 days prior to this, they will jack up the campaign. Rama Rama Re was released in 2016, with audiences and critics alike lauding its director, D Satyaprakash, for telling a very different and compelling story. Validation came in the form of Best Kannada Film award at the BIFFES, 2017. Satyaprakash says he is optimistic about Satya Sangathi breaking new ground again.