Dum Mastam, the Imran Ashraf-Amar Khan starrer, and the maiden production project of renowned actor Adnan Siddiqui, has taken to international waters, with phenomenal promotional activities in full swing. While we witnessed the same back home prior to the release of the film, the lead actor and writer of the film opens up about promotions, the response back home, and what the team is expecting from the overseas audience.
Dum Mastam Promotions: Are They Vital?
The film created an unmatched level of buzz amongst all releases, with mall activations, live dance performances (given that it is a musical) and much more within Pakistan, all during the month of Ramadan, which is a testament to how dedicated the team truly was. With Dum Mastam being the second-highest box office collector, it is quite evident that promotions do, in fact, matter, and finding innovative ways to promote one’s film is becoming more and more vital.
Amar Khan On Dum Mastam Promotions In Pakistan
“Dum Mastam has set a precedent for how films shall be promoted,” states Amar Khan, when opening up about the viral and engaging promotional activities that preceded the release of the film. “Some very heavy duty, two-month-long promotional activities were being planned.”
“Since it was a musical and had a lot of songs, we came up with the concept of the Dum Mastam Tour, where we were dancing, singing, and performing alongside the audience.”
Amar Khan On Dum Mastam Promotions Abroad
Talking about overseas promotions, Amar Khan pointed out how the activity has, over the past years, remained limited, especially when it comes to Pakistani films, despite there being a diverse audience of those who consume that content, made up of not only Pakistanis, but many others of the South Asian descent.
However, the Dum Mastam team has gone fully prepared, with integral media portals lined up, and meet-and-greets being planned, as part of the Dum Mastam Tour. Cinema visits and live performances will also take place.
Post-Pandemic Audiences And Aggressive Promotions
Amar Khan also shared how we’re in a post-pandemic world, where bringing audiences back to cinemas itself has posed as a challenge, given that even films that released while the world was edging towards the end of COVID, did not fare well.
“Excessive promotions are vital,” states Amar. “The faith in, and reversion to cinema is very important – not just as a writer or actor – but I feel anywhere in the world. Even if Amitabh Bachchan has a film releasing, he will go to every city, every mall, every press junket, to aggressively promote the film. In today’s world, where digital content is flourishing, it’s important to sell tickets that way.”
Response By Overseas Audience To Dum Mastam
Amar Khan terms the response “mazedaar,” speculating that the audience seems to be missing their own stars and stories, likening the experience to attending award ceremonies abroad, where the overseas audience pours in an overwhelming amount of love and appreciation.
On Numbers
Amar Khan wished to point out one aspect of being involved in the filmmaking and promotions process, specifically where numbers are concerned.
“Actors are not supposed to talk about the numbers, or the box office. This sounds very low – when an actor talks about exaggerated figures. This is for the distributors and producers to discuss. All the numbers you’re seeing (for Dum Mastam) are only of domestic collections. We still havent shared the Dubai, UK, or US/Canada box office numbers, and Alhamdullillah, we’re having a very successful run.”
With all that said, given that the team is out and about overseas, giving it their all, we wish the cast and crew of Dum Mastam the absolute best, and hope they make Pakistan proud abroad, as they are bound to.
