Just like any other movie we also need a lot of publicity before the release. We had planned audio release during Sankranti festival. When I was watching the Bigg Boss earlier this month I wondered how it would be if we launched our first promo in BB. When I was thinking about it, our hero Naveen krishna called and to my shock he also expressed the same thing. The same thing was running in both our minds.
I started thinking how to make the approach. Though I have been a journalist for so many years, I had not asked any favours from anybody. Finally I talked to the concerned persons and everyone said yes.
By our promo which we planned to release on the Bigg Boss stage had not yet got a Censor certificate. We were worried and did not know what to do if we got a call from Bigg Boss the same week. Luckily that did not happen. We got our promo censored by the time we got the call.
According to our original plan we were supposed to do the audio launch function on Jan 15 and we had informed our PRO, Venkatesh also about it. But still there was no sign from the Bigg Boss!
Tension began to creep me, director Dayal and Naveen. Now if we do not get on Bigg Boss on time, we would have to delay the audio launch. On 20th January morning around 10 am I told Dayal to make another promo ready. Since only two weeks remained in BB3, if we were called it would have to be the same week. The following week was the finals and there was no way we would be called then.
But around 11 am the call finall came from Bigg Boss. We were told to go to the house on January 23 around 5.30 pm. The location was Innovative Film City. On 23rd me with my family, Dayal, Naveen, co-producer Avinash I reached Innovative on time. By that time SihiKahi Geetha had already reached the venue and was ready. This was the first time I was entering any reality show.
When I reached the venue which was in a secured place with tight security, I saw Sudeep, Yogish Dwarkish and Parameshwara Gudkal. I had a few words with them and left to the main venue where the event happens. By that time Naveen, Dayal and Avinash were there. I saw the a caravan with the board ACTOR on it. I was surprised and then came to know a caravan is provided for any guests invited to BB. This is for makeup or for rest in case the shooting is delayed. I told Naveen and Geetha jokingly that in our production we had not provided a Caravan but now you cannot say Actor team has not given a Caravan since it is here!
As journalists we have our sources. In the Bigg Boss semi-finals, I had information at 2 pm itself that Aiyappa would be out of Bigg Boss. But I could not write that in Chitraloka. Revealing that would have spoiled the curiosity that lakhs of people have in watching the show. Aiyappa was walking towards us and seeing me he expressed that we were meeting after a long time.
Next to our caravan there was another caravan and the board on that read Neerdose. Jaggesh was there as a guest for the show. We had a lovely interaction. Jaggesh was called to the show by around 9.30 PM. Run Anthony shooting was going on at the same venue. We met Raghavendra Rajkumar and showed him the promo of our Actor movie.
Around 10.30 pm, we were called to come near the stage where the shooting with Jaggesh was still going on. Final moments had come and we were called to the stage.
Sudeep greeted us and the show stared with our promo launch. Even though it was the first stage programme for all of us at Bigg Boss, Naveen had the experience of having attended many reality shows. During the show I observed Naveen was in some tension or was nervous. Later I came to know even though he and Sudeep were friends from a long time, seeing him on the stage at BB made him nervous.
On 24th I messaged to all my contacts to watch the Bigg Boss show from 9 pm to 10.30 pm since I was appearing on the BB stage for the first time! Around 10 pm our episode started and it went for nearly 8-9 minutes. Once it was over, the first call which I received was from my well wisher and now KFCC president Sa Ra Govindu. Calls to my mobile went on till 3.30 am from all over the world! At that time even though I was so tired I was enjoying since Actor was the hero!
Next morning Udayavani had carried the news and more calls were ringing to my mobile. That day where ever I went everybody was seeing me and pointing out that I was the person they had watched on Bigg Boss. I was surprised and was shocked with the popularity of the show.
Even on Wednesday afternoon when myself and Dayal had gone to a hotel to have our lunch many persons came and said they saw us on Bigg Boss. It was Bigg Boss mania!
One thing we all should understand is - We have to give something different to the audience so that the popularity we got form Bigg Boss is utilised to draw that audience to the theatres for a long run.
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