iWorld
Movies use social media to gain traction
NEW DELHI: At a time when feature films are lucky if they last one week at the theatres, the social media has made it possible for them to reach more people through mediums like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and just plain e-mail.
Two forthcoming movies have already broken records as far the popularity of their trailers on social media goes: Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Mary Kom, and Red Chillies Entertainments and Farah Khan directed Happy New Year.
The trailer of Mary Kom has had a current viewership of over 4.3 million. The trailer of the biopic based on the life of the five-time World Championship and Olympic medalist is one of the most successful trailers of all time.
Overwhelmed with the response, Omung Kumar who makes his directorial debut with the film said, “First we were overwhelmed with the response to the first look of the film. The trailer touched people and many people called to tell me that they cried after seeing it. The most touching response for me was from a lady from the north east, who had somehow found out my mobile number and called to say how seeing the trailer, she felt so proud and felt grateful for what it was attempting to do for women, sports and most importantly, people from the region.”
Priyanka Chopra who has enacted the title role said, “I was in shock after the response to the first look of the poster itself! I remember we were shooting in Turkey and I tweeted it and went back to shooting. By the time I came back, my phone was flooded with SMSs and over 3,500 Twitter messages loving it. I thought my phone would explode. The nicest response I got post the trailer was when Mary called me and said, `My kids saw you and thought it is me.’ For me, if I could convince a mother’s children despite not looking like her, it made me proud.” The biggest compliment that came the actress’ way however was from Farhan Akhtar when he said, `Mary ko Milkha ka salaam.”
Producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali said, “Mary Kom’s story is an inspiring one that touched my heart. Not many films are based on biopics of living people, so this is a rare experiment. I am extremely proud of it.”
Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mary Kom stars Priyanka Chopra and Darshan Kumar in the lead. The movie will be released on 5 September.
Red Chillies Entertainments claimed that the views of the trailer of its Happy New Year from all platforms crossed a record breaking number of four million in 24 hours.
The first trailer to be launched on Facebook, became the most viewed movie trailer on Facebook Native Player across the globe with 1.5 million trailer views, 2.8 million post interaction and over 18 million FB users reached, and over 360,000 likes for the trailer which is the highest ever.
On Twitter, it had 1.5 billion impressions only on 14 August and five hashtags trending of Happy New Year.
It had over two million views across various YouTube partner channels. It became the first film to send a trailer via WhatsApp.
The trailer on the DTH platform Tata Sky reached over 13 million subscribers and each one had to watch the channel 100 when they switched on their TV sets before they could go to any other channel of their choice.
Airtel WAP had over 15 million visitors every day while over 300,000 fans received it via SMS service (missed call facility). Over 25,000 fans received the trailer via email.
While most of the films opt for the conventional YouTube platform, the trailer of Happy New Year slated to release around Diwali was first launched on Facebook’s native video player using an application wherein the trailer was not only launched on the Facebook page of the film but also the timelines of all the users who subscribed to the app.
“In keeping with the tradition of innovation established by Red Chillies, we were delighted to launch the trailer of HNY for the first time across multiple platforms. This was also done to meet the demands of fans who are consuming talent in ways that suit them. This has given the trailer an unprecedented footprint and delighted the fans,” said RCE CEO Venky Mysore.
The trailer was launched on the native video player of Twitter with personalised messages from the cast of the film. “Red Chillies and the cast of Happy New Year understand the value of developing live, personal and interactive connections with their audience, which is only possible on Twitter. From the entire cast and crew sharing every moment of film production on Twitter via their personal handles to their launching personalised trailers and posters on Twitter, Happy New Year has set a new national and global standard in the movie business,” said Twitter India market director Rishi Jaitley.
The trailer was also launched on the conventional platform of YouTube on all channels of the partners (Music distributors T-Series and film distributors Yash Raj Films) of the film along with Red Chillies’ official channel.
iWorld
OpenAI hits back at Elon Musk’s lawsuit ahead of trial
Company calls claims “baseless” and accuses Musk of trying to disrupt a rival.
MUMBAI: When the stakes are measured in billions and egos are involved, even Silicon Valley titans can turn a courtroom into a battlefield. OpenAI has issued a sharp public response to Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit, accusing the billionaire of filing the case to harass a competitor rather than address genuine concerns. In a strongly worded statement shared on its official X account, OpenAI described Musk’s allegations as “baseless” and suggested the lawsuit is an attempt to disrupt the company as the case heads toward trial later this month in Oakland, California.
The response comes after Musk’s legal team recently amended the complaint, proposing that any damages potentially exceeding $150 billion should go to OpenAI’s nonprofit entity rather than to Musk personally. OpenAI questioned the timing and motive behind this change, calling it a late-stage attempt to “pretend to change his tune” on the nonprofit structure.
The company further labelled the lawsuit a “harassment campaign”, arguing that Musk’s actions are driven by personal rivalry, ego, and a desire for greater control and financial upside.
At the heart of the dispute is Musk’s claim that OpenAI has abandoned its original nonprofit mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. A co-founder who left in 2018, Musk is seeking governance changes, including the removal of CEO Sam Altman from the nonprofit board, and the return of certain financial gains linked to Altman and President Greg Brockman.
OpenAI has firmly rejected these allegations, maintaining that its current hybrid structure, a public-benefit corporation overseen by a nonprofit parent remains true to its long-term goals. The company has also previously accused Musk of anti-competitive behaviour aimed at weakening its leadership.
As the case prepares for a jury trial, this public exchange highlights the deepening rift between two of the most influential figures in the AI revolution and raises broader questions about governance, mission, and power in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence.
In the high-stakes game of AI, it seems the real drama isn’t just inside the models, it’s playing out in courtrooms too.
