UTV's dancing tunes

UTV Motion Pictures has lined up a slew of activities to promote its new movie, Chance Pe Dance, which is set to be released on January 15

Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza recently spent a night together in a car - and this is not any gossip. The new on-screen couple spent a night together in the confines of a Maruti Zen as a part of the promotional campaign for their upcoming movie, Chance Pe Dance, in which they play strugglers.

In order to create initial buzz around the movie, Chance Pe Dance, production house UTV Motion Pictures has lined up several interesting promotional activities that range from dance contests to spending one night in the car with its star cast.

Chance Pe Dance, which is set to be released on January 15, portrays the story of a struggling actor who enters a reality hunt to finally become a superstar. In order to depict what most strugglers go through, such as spending days on railway platforms, footpaths and benches, the two stars played this role by spending the entire night (from 12 pm to 6 am) in a small family car, with their fans and media persons eating 'vada pav' and having 'chai'.

The Mumbai based firm, in association with UTV Bindass, IIFA brand owner Wizcraft and Shoppers Stop, also launched the Chance Pe Dance apparel line. Recently, the stars of the movie made an appearance at a Shoppers Stop store in Juhu to promote the product line, Life, which recreates clothes worn by Kapoor and D'Souza in the movie. The collection is available across 30 locations priced at Rs 499 onwards for women and Rs 599 onwards for men.

Additionally, the film launched a co-branded TVC with Levi's, which features Shahid Kapoor. The TVC is currently on air.

The company, in collaboration with Coca-Cola India, is also running a contest on MTV called the Fanta Fun Contest, which is open to people in the age group of 15-25 years. People can participate in team sizes of two-five members and the winners will get a chance to interact with the stars of the film.

UTV will also conduct an online dance challenge where the participants can upload their dance videos on YouTube. "Basically, it is Shahid challenging his fans to dance to the tunes of Chance Pe Dance and 100 people from the selected entries will be chosen to dance with him, where they can learn a few moves from him," says Shikha Kapur, vice-president, marketing, UTV Motion Pictures. Details about the contest can be found on UTV's Facebook profile. The company is also planning some events in New Delhi in the coming week.

Lately, movie merchandising has picked up as a trend, with several production houses tying up with lifestyle stores to promote movies. Recently, Future Group's Pantaloons India tied up with the movie 3 Idiots to launch the 3 Idiots apparel and accessories collection. Similarly, Ranbir Kapoor starrer Wake Up Sid, which was distributed by UTV Motion Pictures, introduced an apparel range in collaboration with Provogue.

While the two movies went on to become successful hits, it remains to be seen how well Chance Pe Dance fares at the box office.

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