Phillauri: Want to talk to Anushka Sharma? Here’s her number

Increasingly, film-makers are pushing the envelope not just with content but also by adopting innovative ways to promote their films. One such strategy has been devised by the makers of Phillauri, in which actor Anushka Sharma will interact with fans on a video call but remain invisible. Produced by Fox Star Studios and Clean Slate Films and directed by Anshai Lal, Phillauri releases on March 24.

Anushka will be calling fans every week to talk to them about Phillauri as Shashi, the friendly spirit, through a dedicated WhatsApp number (9867473178). A source explains, “Anushka is playing the role of a friendly spirit in the movie. To take this thought forward, she has got a personal phone number registered in the name of Shashi – the character from the film that she is playing. She will interact with fans through WhatsApp’s video calling feature. All they have to do is add the number on WhatsApp. The number will be constantly used by her throughout the campaign of Phillauri to engage with her fans, who will get exclusive access to the film’s promotional content too.”

Talking about the innovation, Shikha Kapur, chief marketing officer, Fox Star Studios, says, “The unique storyline of Phillauri, where the lead-actor plays a friendly spirit who cannot be seen by people, gives us the opportunity to create a campaign that is imaginative. For Phillauri, we have created ideas that are experiential in nature and invoke participation. WhatsApp with Shashi, is one such idea where we tap into the reach of the chatting platform in the country, which has 160 million monthly users.”