The King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan today launched a custom built movie channel on the world‘s leading online video platform YouTube for his upcoming superhero filmRa.One. Khan‘s production company, Red Chillies Entertainment the producer of Ra.One, together with the YouTube team also released a thrilling viral promo for the upcoming film on http://www.youtube.com/RaOneMovie
The movie channel on YouTube will offer users a one-stop destination for all promotional video content and special extras for Ra.One. Fans can look forward to exclusives with Shah Rukh Khan’s thoughts on Ra.One, behind the scenes shots, uncut footage of the star cast, and videos of the Ra.One premiere and red carpet events planned in London. Shah Rukh Khan will also be among one of the first Indian celebrities to be on the Google + platform and engage his fans.
Leveraging the movie’s hi-end graphics and special effects, the specially designed channel will also host games including the first Social Game from India, digital comic, as well as unique contests where participants get a chance to create Ra.One promos from clips, music and dialogues of the film provided in an easy to use interface and compete for the most views, and a chance to meet the Superstar.
On the association with YouTube, Shah Rukh Khan said, “YouTube is an incredibly powerful platform to engage fans across the globe and is integral to all blockbuster movie promotions in Hollywood. For Ra.One, I wanted to leverage the full potential of digital media and create an experience on YouTube and Google+ that has never been done for any Indian film. I am very excited about the project and am personally working with the Google team to create a destination that my fans can enjoy from anywhere in the world.”
Speaking about the association, Rajan Anandan, MD & Vice President Sales & Operations for Google India said, “We are very pleased to associate with Shah Rukh Khan to create a unique and customised destination for Ra.One on YouTube. In the last few years, Indian production houses have begun to embrace the YouTube platform to engage fans, distribute movies and leverage rich media ad formats to promote their movies online. Bollywood is now an integral part of the YouTube experience and reaches over 22 million unique users in India. With this channel we want to demonstrate how YouTube can be used creatively to connect with the highly engaged YouTube community in India and across the world.”
Shailja Gupta, the Digital & Merchandising head of Red Chillies said, “This initiative will break new ground in digital marketing for Bollywood films, and the ‘make your own Ra.One promo‘ contest is a great example of how the channel will enhance fans’ interactive experience with the movie. Shah Rukh has promised that he will personally choose the winner from the top 10 user editor and promote it.”
The Ra.One movie channel is the first customised channel of its kind to be released in India for a Bollywood movie on YouTube in India. Internationally, YouTube has worked with several Hollywood productions to create customised viral campaigns, like for the Expendables, and the most recent “Skadoosh!! Kung Fu Panda 2” with Jack Black, which became an instant worldwide hit.
