Posters, television interviews and press meets are not the only way to promote a film today. Social media’s potential, after all, feels limitless. Take Samantha Akkineni’s recent challenge, where she encouraged fans to dress like it was the ’60s and tag her in their Instagram posts (to promote her recently-released Telugu film, Oh Baby ! ) . Last year, the actress challenged her followers to post videos of them dancing to ‘The Karma Theme’, from U-Turn , zeroing in on music to make a connect with fans. Other stars have taken to collaborating with YouTube’s top dance channels, joining in for choreographed sequences from soon-to-be-released films. Earlier this year, Sonam Kapoor appeared at the halfway mark of Team Naach’s cover of ‘Gud Naal Ishq Mitha’ from her film, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. Similarly, Rakul Preet Singh made an appearance in Melvin Louis’ YouTube channel to promote her film De De Pyar De , with the song ‘Hauli Hauli’.
The collaborations are a win-win situation, admit these YouTubers, even though they do not get paid and production costs are usually split. As for ad revenue from YouTube, choreographed covers, which feature songs from popular films, do not generate any because the music is licensed to a label. Instead, income is generated by partnerships with brands across verticals: from property to tech to clothing. AdSense — YouTube’s revenue system based on the number of ads that are clicked — does apply to tutorial-style videos. And in the offline world, these dancers have their wildly-popular workshops.
With millions of followers, these channels help provide some buzz around upcoming films, while also upping their own subscriber count thanks to wider viewership. Louis, for example, has nearly doubled his subscribers just in the past six months. We speak with some of these ‘DanceTubers’ to find out how their collaborations kicked off.
DanceFit Live | 3.2 million subscribers: When Nasik-based Tejas Dhoke and Ishpreet Dang, the duo behind DanceFit Live, reached out to Sony last year for a No Objection Certificate to use the song ‘Kya Baat Ay’ in one of their videos, the music label one-upped the deal. They suggested that the singer, Hardavinder Singh Sandhu (Harrdy Sandhu), perform alongside them for a dance cover. Dhoke admits that they were stunned by the idea that one of India’s top singers would want to work with them. “Hardy Sandhu had said that he was a fan of ours,” says a still-incredulous Dhoke. The video resulted in more collaborations coming in through music channels, and today, DanceFit has added names like Rakul Preet Singh (above) and Elli Avram to its list of celebrity collabs. The duo started out as a local dance group, performing at shows with crowds of around 1,000 people. But when they began posting regularly on YouTube in 2016, their early videos (like their cover of ‘Nashe si Chadh Gayi’) racked up as many as 4 lakh views. Their covers often feature them dancing alongside students from their workshops and classes, which they conduct regularly. They admit that the channel’s popularity skyrocketed after they started making covers of Punjabi songs last year. “We made it a point to cover non-commercial songs,” Dhoke explains. “That’s when our views shot up.” Their interpretation of ‘Daru Badnaam’, for instance, has 126 million views, one of the highest on their channel. But they are quick to point out that they also work with Bollywood music and sometimes, Tamil songs. “Every video has its own unique audience,” adds Dang.
Team Naach | 2.2 million subscribers: Sonam Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Will Smith — these are some of the celebrities that Mumbai-based Sonal Devraj and Nicole Concessao have collaborated with. They reveal that the first move is often made by an actor’s PR team, a production house or a music label. Typically, the star only has about 15 or 20 minutes, “so we try our best to create choreography that’s easy to remember and perform on the spot”, says Devraj. Perhaps that also explains why many collab videos see the star magically appearing halfway through the song. Often, these tie-ups are part of a larger plan. Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt’s dance collabs with Team Naach, for instance, were part of the #CreateTogetherwithKalank campaign on the Internet, to promote their then upcoming film, ‘Kalank’. “Social media is much more dynamic, that’s why public relations companies have now warmed up to having collaborations,” says Concessao, adding that TeamNaach’s following shot up after these celebrity appearances. “It’s definitely an extra boost.” And of course, there’s the increased demand for the duo’s workshops, which are conducted across the country.
Melvin Louis | 3 million subscribers: Melvin Louis’ students include well-known names like actress Sandeepa Dhar, so a collaboration was practically inevitable. His ‘Aankh Marey’ cover from ‘Simmba’ in December last year saw singer Neha Kakkar (left)— a YouTube star herself — dancing, and it clocked in over nine million views. He also believes that the informal tone of his videos — single camera set-up and no “flashy acessories”— helps put celebrities at ease, not to forget the rapport he has with his subscribers. In fact, his work is so popular that fans are now making covers of his covers. Look up #MelvinLouisChoreography on Instagram, and you’ll see dance routines performed in bedrooms, gardens and terraces. “We don’t want people to be bullied for their low-quality videos inspired by us. That’s why we stick to low cost productions,” says Louis, adding that dance should not be limited to show business. Louis thinks that the rise in fitness culture and internet accessibility have helped boost his popularity. But he also admits that his switch from hip-hop to Bollywood in 2016, including his viral cover of ‘Kala Chashma’ is what landed him the views. His real passion, though, lies with choreographing songs that do not already have a dance routine. One such video covering ‘Rocket Saiyyan’ from the film ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’ has almost as many views as the original music video.
Published - July 12, 2019 03:48 pm IST
