Every new Friday sees the release of a few Bollywood films where viewers escape from the humdrum of life in a world of make-believe that is orchestrated by larger than life fantasies. Bollywood movies have evolved greatly over the last decade and have a global appeal with slicker storylines, better execution of action sequences and songs that add to the depth of the movie have cine-goers flocking theatres one Friday after another. Even though the approach to cinema has changed, the passion of movie making remains unaltered. The weeks preceding a Bollywood movie release are extremely crucial to the final success among the audience. Movie promotion has evolved into a full time department and is a far cry from the days of yore. Films are promoted with great gusto and it is not uncommon to see the leading cast make appearances at various events like talent hunts, entertainment channels on television, popular news channels, appearances on radio shows, exclusive interviews with leading entertainment dailies like magazines, newspapers, etc. Exclusive photo shoots of the lead pair have become a norm before a Bollywood movie release and gives viewers a sneak-peek of the characters portrayed by popular artists.

Bollywood actors have gone tech savvy and have a wide presence on various social networking sites where they interact with fans directly. The internet plays a major role in garnering interest among the general public especially the youth. Movie makers cash in on this popularity and have dedicated profiles or pages of the upcoming movie where videos, song trailers, movie teasers, images from various promotional events are uploaded that create a buzz in net space. These internet profiles are also supplemented by polls, contests and other marketing strategies where lucky winners get free tickets, official movie merchandise like signed music DVDs, posters, etc. Press conferences prior to Bollywood movie release are a media circus with the lead pair, supporting cast, director and other important technicians like the music composers, singers, etc. addressing the media. These press conferences are held across various cities in the country and are aimed at giving insight to the central theme of the film, the pre and post production events, etc. These promotional activates are planned and executed with great precision so that the movie creates interest among the general public.

Many film makers prefer to release movies on holidays and festivities with Diwali and Eid being most popular. These dates are chosen as families usually step out after all the merrymaking to enjoy movies playing at theatres nearby. Care is taken to prevent the release of two movies on the same day as one movie almost always enjoys better viewership than the other. It is therefore an unspoken rule in B-town among film makers to either change the date or delay the film release to avoid clashes at the box office.

Every Bollywood movie release sees a different promotional strategy that is customised to bring to the fore the theme of the film and ultimately set the cash registers ringing.