New Delhi: With ‘Don 2’ scheduled to hit screens across India towards the end of this month, the government, on Tuesday, cautioned the public about the impending extreme promotion for the film by Shah Rukh Khan. In the wake of the unprecedented promotion for Ra.One and the subsequent debacle, the whole of India has been put on high alert as the government expects SRK to indulge in similar promotional activities for his upcoming film ‘Don 2’. It is rumoured that Rs. 75 crore was spent on making the film and apparently the marketing budget is a whopping Rs. 150 crore. Acting proactively, the ministry of information and broadcasting has issued an advisory to SRK laying down the rules for the promotion of ‘Don 2’. We have managed to gain exclusive access to the letter sent by the I&B ministry to SRK. The letter lists 132 things that SRK cannot do while promoting his upcoming film. There are some very interesting items in this list. For instance, the rules forbid SRK from randomly knocking at doors of houses in the night for promoting his film. Another guideline suggests that personal visits to restaurants, temples, schools, colleges, kirana stores, tea stalls, pan shops, barber shops, pani puri vendors, cycle shops, cobblers etc have to be done strictly between 10 AM and 5 PM. SRK is also forbidden from indulging in promotional activities in some designated areas. The list states 24 such places. Some of these are the parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, residence of the governor/CM, hospitals, pay and use Sulabh toilets etc. Also the letter clearly states that SRK cannot force anyone to watch his film. He can only promote his film highlighting the salient features of the film. The advisory also prohibits SRK from inviting all the Bollywood celebrities and making them dance in a song in the film.
Our sources suggest that many celebrities have gone into hiding fearing a call by SRK to do a cameo in Don 2. Superstar RajiniKanth could not be traced and his present location is known only to close family members as it is widely believed that SRK would ask RajiniKanth to appear in Don 2 to make the film a hit in South India. Film industry observers warned the public that SRK might appear in disguise also. They requested everyone to be alert and not to rule out any possibility. For instance SRK can even appear suddenly in an aircraft as an air host shouting: "m..m..m..m..may I have your k..k..k..k..kind attention please" and start promoting Don 2. Foreign travelers have to be extra careful as the possibility of SRK appearing in an international flight is higher as his films are mainly made for the NRI audiences. However the government requested the public not to panic. Control rooms have been setup so that anyone can complain if SRK indulges in any violation of the promotion rules. Some unconfirmed reports suggested that John Abraham was planning to launch his film which has a similar storyline as Don 2 at the same time. It was also said that his movie was called 'John too'. But John Abraham rubbished these claims.
When SRK was asked about Ra.One's failure and hence the current dull period that he is going through, he curtly summarised: 'The night is darkest just before the don (2)'
'The Statesman' link: http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=392475:hit-n-miss-&catid=39:perspective&from_page=search
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