Vipul Shah halts all publicity for Salman Khan

Mumbai, Oct 2 (IANS) Is this a case of a Salman Khan overkill? Director Vipul Shah doesn't think so, but he has put a halt to all publicity involving the star for his forthcoming release "London Dreams" until "Main Aurr Mrs Khanna" is released Oct 16.

"There's no point in a publicity overlap. I don't want audiences to be confused or annoyed by repeated and overlapping images of Salman's films," Shah told IANS.

The Salman season has begun full-swing. After the whopping "Wanted", it is Salman's home production "Main Aurr Mrs. Khanna" on Oct 16 followed by Vipul Shah's "London Dreams" on Oct 30.

"Fortunately, for me both 'Wanted' and 'Main Aurr Mrs Khanna' are very different from my film, and from one another. However, it's finally the same Salman. So I'd rather not waste his publicity dates or my efforts to get the film noticed," he said.

Shah is looking at a new strategy to promote his film.

"I'm waiting and observing the way 'Main Aurr Mrs Khanna' is being promoted. My challenge is to now present Salman differently from the way he was presented for 'Wanted' and 'Main Aurr Mrs Khanna'."

One of the ideas is to host a round of rock concerts in selected cities featuring Salman, Ajay Devgan and Asin Thottumkal since the film is about a music band. But at the moment Shah is tight-lipped on this.

"It's never wise to reveal your strategy. You never know who might decide to use it before you do," he explained.

Another problem has crept up on "London Dreams". Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy "Aladin" has been advanced from Nov 13 to Oct 30.

"I had gone ahead and planned an October 30 release with the producers' guild's assurance that there would be no other release. But now suddenly 'Aladin' has been advanced to the same Friday as 'London Dreams'. I hope neither film suffers," said Shah, keeping his fingers crossed. Click the Movie button below for more info:
London Dreams