‘Pihu’ Sent for Guinness Book; Gets Flak for Cruel Marketing Ploy
How far is too far when it comes to movie marketing?
What do you do when you get a call from an unknown number, and pick up to hear the voice of wailing child asking for help?
Call back? Dial emergency helplines?
Several people were left with similar helplessness and confusion when they got call from a girl named Pihu, which turned out be just a movie marketing ploy.
Naturally, the knowledge that this was just a ‘promotional gimmick’ left several enraged and shortchanged.
When the trailer released last week, it gripped the nation’s heart with its gut wrenching jump scares, and the two-year old child actor who plays the titular character ‘Pihu’.
In fact, this Vinod Kapri directed flick is being sent to the Guinness Book of World Record for featuring a two-year-old child actor in the film.
While casting a two year old in a thriller is no small fete, is it really okay to toy with the audiences’ emotions by playing a practical joke on them in the name of movie promotion?
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur, Pihu is been slated for a November 16 release.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)