Phas Gaya Re promotion coincides with Obama visit

When Subhash Kapoor started directing his first film,Phas Gaye Re Obama,he had never imagined US President Barack Obama's visit to India would provide an impetus to the project's promotion.

When Subhash Kapoor started directing his first film,Phas Gaye Re Obama,nearly a year ago,he had never imagined US President Barack Obama’s visit to India would provide an impetus to the project’s promotion.

But there is more to the timing than just Obama’s arrival in India’s entertainment capital Saturday,when Kapoor will launch the film’s promotional campaign in newspapers,on TV and through hoardings.

Phas Gaye Re Obama,whose international title is With Love to Obama,is a satire set against the backdrop of the global recession that originated in the US. And it is ready for release,by another coincidence,in the aftermath of the drubbing Obama’s Democratic Party has suffered in the mid-term elections in the US,a performance which has been largely blamed on the failure of the Obama administration to adequately address the economic woes of the country.

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“We are not fortunate enough to show the film to the President but we wish to at least kick-start our campaign on Saturday,” said Kapoor. The débutante director is hoping that Obama sets his eyes on the movie through some medium. The film had an international première on October 27 at the South Asian International Film Festival,New York.

“The film showcases the recession’s impact on underworld gangs in western Uttar Pradesh,” says actor Rajat Kapoor,who is a member of its cast. The film traces the journey of Om Shashtri,an American citizen of Indian origin,who loses all his wealth overnight due to the recession and has been asked by the bank to vacate his home unless he pays up $100,000 within 30 days.

Om comes to India to sell his ancestral property. But soon he is kidnapped by a ‘recession-hit’ underworld gang. “The story focuses on what recession-hit small town Indian gangsters have to say to President Obama. They believe he is the only man who can control it,” says Kapoor,who has also written the script of this comedy.

The film was initially scheduled to release in October. But due to some post-production issues it was deferred. The director is only happy about it. “After we came to know about Obama’s visit,we wanted to release the movie around the time of his India tour. But Diwali is for big Bollywood releases and it would have been difficult for us to get any shows at multiplexes or earn profits,” said Kapoor.

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In fact,several followers of the film on Twitter have been goading Kapoor’s team to release Phas Gaye Re Obama during the US President’s visit. The film now releases on December 4. “We hope the impact of the visit remains until then,” Kapoor hopes.

The director,however,wishes to convey his message to the President. “Obama came to power with the slogan of change,but the world is yet to see that change. He should do something that will wipe out the economic meltdown and make a difference to the world.”