NEW DELHI: As theatrical films compete with OTT (over-the-top) content and other entertainment options for audience attention, promotional campaigns have become a central part of a film’s release strategy, often with actors contractually required to participate.
A recent dispute in the Malayalam film industry has brought that shift into focus. The Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) has asked actor Biju Menon to pay a compensation of about ₹15 lakh to cover the alleged loss incurred by the producer of his movie Nadanna Sambhavam, after the actor allegedly failed to appear for promotions as required under his contract.
Queries sent to the actor on Saturday requesting a comment remained unanswered. The producer, Anoop Kananan, has said that the contract required lead actors to dedicate 10 days to promotion, but Menon only appeared for a few hours.
In an earlier interview with Mint, actor Aamir Khan stressed the importance of marketing and promotional events, saying actors and crews must step out to make audiences aware of a film, since such outreach cannot be done “in their living rooms.”
Promotions become part of the deal
Industry experts say such disputes highlight how marketing has become deeply embedded in the economics of filmmaking, with promotional duties increasingly written into actor contracts alongside performance obligations.
Promotional requirements are now specifically mentioned in actor contracts with the number of days included in their fee, as compared to about a decade ago, when there were fewer activities planned and actors were simply expected to take time out for them.
Industry executives estimate that 20-30% of a film’s marketing budget goes into promotional events.
From a legal standpoint, a film project is typically governed by a contract that includes express terms regarding promotional duties. If an actor signs such a contract and then fails to honour it, the producer can claim contractual breach and seek remedies—most commonly damages proportionate to the quantifiable loss the producer alleges to have suffered. That said, promotions come with both advantages and downsides, particularly if they become excessive.
“In contemporary film contracts, participation in pre-release promotional activities is no longer a mere courtesy—it’s increasingly a negotiated, contractual obligation that materially affects a project’s commercial ecosystem,” said Tushar Agarwal, founder and managing partner, C.L.A.P. JURIS, Advocates & Solicitors. “Producers and distributors value star appearances at press meets, interviews and media circuits because such visibility drives marketability and can directly influence downstream revenue streams such as television and digital rights.”
Agarwal added that the key is that such preferences must be transparently negotiated before signing the agreement.
Promotions today sit at the intersection of storytelling and commerce, according to Abhishek S. Vyas, founder and chief executive officer of AVS, an arts and entertainment company.
“A film is no longer competing only with other theatrical releases. It is competing with streaming platforms, gaming, social media, and global content available instantly to audiences. In that environment, promotional participation by actors becomes an extension of the narrative itself. The biggest benefit is discoverability. When actors participate in interviews, city tours, digital collaborations, or creator conversations, they help create familiarity and emotional entry points into the film,” Vyas said.
However, such campaigns can also carry downsides. Promotions may become excessive or disconnected from the creative tone of the film, Vyas pointed out. Overexposure can leave audiences feeling they have already consumed the film through trailers, reels and interviews, while actors themselves may experience fatigue when juggling multiple projects.
Actors also operate in an increasingly demanding professional ecosystem, said television producer and director Nivedita Basu.
“Promotional tours can be physically and mentally exhausting. If expectations are not clearly defined in contracts, friction is inevitable. In some southern industries, shorter and sharper promotional windows work because audience loyalty and word-of-mouth play a stronger role. But in the Hindi market, where opening weekend economics are critical, star participation still significantly influences perception,” Basu said.
Still, the Biju Menon dispute underscores a broader commercial reality: promotions are increasingly embedded in the revenue model of filmmaking, said Raheel Patel, partner at Gandhi Law Associates.
Actor participation boosts opening numbers, strengthens distributor confidence and enhances OTT valuations. The downside is overexposure, reputational risk and the argument, often heard in parts of the southern industry, that performance, not marketing, is the actor’s core duty, experts say.
When contracts are breached
“The legal consequences of refusing to participate in promotions depend almost entirely on the contractual framework,” said Ankit Sahni, partner, Ajay Sahni & Associates.
Contemporary film agreements, particularly in Hindi cinema, often include structured publicity clauses specifying the number of days, territories and formats of participation, including social media deliverables, Sahni said.
If an actor, he said, withdraws without lawful justification, producers may seek damages, adjust unpaid consideration, invoke indemnity provisions or withhold backend participation. Courts are unlikely to compel actors to attend promotional events, since Indian law does not ordinarily permit specific performance of personal service contracts, meaning remedies typically lie in financial claims rather than coercive enforcement.
Sahni added that the more complex challenge is establishing quantifiable loss.
At the same time, legal experts caution that actor participation is not the only avenue available to promote a film.
Tushar Kumar, advocate at the Supreme Court, said producers retain the liberty to deploy alternative publicity mechanisms, including digital marketing campaigns, trailer and music launches, brand integrations, influencer collaborations, and media engagement through directors and supporting cast. Several films, particularly in regional markets, have achieved commercial success through fan-driven publicity and strategic marketing independent of sustained actor involvement.
“Films today are no longer dependent solely on physical promotional tours. Strategic digital campaigns, teaser drops, influencer collaborations, and algorithm-driven advertising often generate wider traction at lower cost. Word-of-mouth amplification, festival premieres, and platform-backed marketing, especially by OTT giants, also substitute for actor-heavy promotions. In many cases, content-led virality and targeted digital outreach have proven as effective as traditional press circuits,” said B. Shravanth Shanker, managing partner, B. Shanker Advocates LLP.