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Based upon the life and times of India’s first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Sam Bahadur hits theaters across the country today i.e., December 01. The film stars Vicky Kaushal, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Neeraj Kabi, Govind Namdev, and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub in prominent roles. It is directed by Meghna Gulzar and is written by Bhavani Iyer, Shantanu Shrivastava, and Gulzar herself. Set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, the film chronicles Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s leadership of the Indian Army leading to Bangladesh's liberation.
Sam Bahadur’s marketing used a mix of conventional and novel strategies. While simultaneously leveraging Vicky Kaushal’s following of 16.5 million on Instagram, the marketing team took significant strides in promoting the film as it held offline events in several cities. Since the movie pays tribute to a field marshal, the movie made sure to involve the Indian army every step of the way, honouring their contribution to the country. From behind-the-scenes videos and World Cup appearances to Zomato collaboration, Sam Bahadur’s movie marketing tried to incorporate a 360-degree approach.
Here’s a closer look:
Sharing the journey with the audience
Right from the moment the film was conceptualized, director Meghna Gulzar kept the audience informed about the film’s proceedings and the stages of production. She extensively shared behind-the-scenes footage and pictures depicting the process of production. She even took to her social media to announce the film’s casting two years ago. While filmmakers are generally secretive about their projects, Gulzar took an unusual route. She shared inside details of the film including the location scouting, table reads, costume designing, music creation, the actors’ preparations and look tests, and shoot preparations. These were shared before the film had even gone on floors. This peculiar approach might have been taken to make the audience feel like a part of the experience and get them invested early on in the project. It could also have been done with the intention of showcasing the amount of work that has been put into making the movie; Vicky Kaushal described the role as “The toughest role I have played… The most enriching and fulfilling journey I have been on as an Actor!”
Teasing the audience
Almost two months before the film’s release, the makers started to build anticipation by introducing snippets of the film. Announcing the release of the teaser, Kaushal took to his Instagram and posted the film’s posters, revealing his look as the Sam Manekshaw.
Subsequently, the teaser of the movie was shared and started trending at #1 on YouTube. It received praises from audiences and critics alike. It was made sure that this praise did not go unnoticed as Kaushal posted a creative which contained responses praising the trailer and Kaushal’s look.
Another poster was shared after a few weeks to keep the momentum going before the on-ground promotions took pace.
Trailer launch
The much-anticipated trailer for Sam Bahadur was unveiled in the presence of Army Chief General Manoj Pande and the entire team of the film at The Manekshaw Centre in Delhi. During the trailer launch, Kaushal shared how challenging it was for him to play Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw on-screen.
Kaushal shared pictures and videos from the launch on his Instagram.
A day after the launch, Kaushal posted a video showcasing the positive reviews and comments shared by people for the trailer.
Riding high on the cricket fever
Relishing in the fervor of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Kaushal donned the Indian cricket team’s jersey and cheered for the men in blue in their match against South Africa. He went on to join the commentary box during the initial phase of the match and appeared on Star Sports promoting the film. This was done to leverage the opportunity that the World Cup presented–with a majority of the country’s population tuning in to watch the match.
Touring the country
Sam Bahadur’s cast traveled to several major cities in India promoting the film and held large-scale promotional events. Kaushal and co. traveled to Kolkata, Jaipur, Attari Border in Amritsar, Delhi, Jammu, Lucknow, among others.
Consolidating the hype with songs
Sam Bahadur’s promotion tactics saw the movie making good use its songs ‘Badhte Chalo’ and ‘Banda’ to continue building the hype. The songs of the film are composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and are written by Meghna’s father and the legendary author Gulzar, which added to the credibility of the music of Sam Bahadur.
Kaushal followed the release of these songs with posts that featured captions with songs’ names incorporated in them.
Breadcrumbing BTS
The movie’s marketing approach followed director Meghna Gulzar’s footsteps and put the behind-the-scenes footage to good use. From videos of Kaushal’s training to the dance rehearsals to capturing him interacting with the army, extensive footage was shared on social media. This gave the audience something more than just conventional promotional material to engage upon.
Another remarkable element of the film was collaborating with real army personnel instead of background artists during its shooting.
Brand Collaboration
Keeping with the recent trend of brand collaborations among Hindi movies, Sam Bahadur collaborated with Zomato in an interesting video that the brand shared on its social media. In the video, Kaushal visits the office of Zomato trying to become a notification writer. Playing Sam Bahardur, he tries to write prompts to be sent to the consumers throughout the day in a humorous manner.
To further create buzz, Zomato also shared a notification with users that read, “Our new writer is a celeb. Tap here to watch his first day at work.” When clicked, it redirected to Zomato’s YouTube channel and played Kaushal’s video.
TV and Digital appearances
The film’s cast made several appearances on TV as well as digital channels. The cast appeared on an episode of popular reality show Indian Idol. This was done to connect with a large section of the audience who watch television, especially reality shows.
The cast also gave numerous interviews and did media rounds promoting the movie. Director Meghna Gulzar and Vicky Kaushal did not shy away from talking in-depth about the filmmaking process and engaging with the media. They appeared on Midday, The Indian Express’ Express Adda, IMDb, Radio City India, Pinkvilla and more.
Considering Sam Bahadur’s compelling narrative on historical significance, the movie also focused on celebrating the Indian Army’s bravery and maintained a high patriotic spirit across its promotional tactics.