The internet presence of film-maker Anup Kurian's new project The Blueberry Hunt is like a bag of goodies. Click on its Facebook page and a graphic novel catches your attention. Move over to its recently posted soundtracks and a funky OST (original sound track) with embedded dialogues emerges. The FB page also has an album of character sketches and the director (with a Blueberry Hunt pseudonym) personally engages in discussions with fans. The result of this unique marketing experiment is not surprising - it's been a little more than one month,and the Facebook page already boasts of over 18,000 views,4,000 likes,while the latest updates are getting an exceptional 20,000 views everyday. The songs,being marketed for free right now,have already crossed the 10,000 download mark. Kottayam-based Kurian refuses to call his movie a 'niche project'. He does not agree to tags such as 'experimental','film festival material' or 'artistic'. "It's a story that anyone can relate to. I have just tried to tell my story in an unconventional manner," he says. But the effort to market this film is uniquely experimental,that much he agrees too. The Blueberry Hunt,Kurian's second film,unfolds in the green deserted estate of Vagamon in Kerala. It centres around a reclusive colonel,played by Naseeruddin Shah,who grows a high potency variant of marijuana the blueberry skunk,as a last chance to earn money. Kurian's first film,Mansarovar,which won the Aravindan Puraskaram,the Gollapundi Srinivas National Prize and the Best Picture award at the International Film Festival of Mumbai in 2005,failed to create any 'mainstream' buzz. So he devised a unique strategy to promote his second. With the marketing of The Blueberry Hunt,however,Kurian feels he has hit the hammer right on the head. The film,which was ready six months ago,is slated to hit the screens in the first week of November and Kurian believes that this wait will help his small-budget film make the transition from an underground hit to a 'mainstream' one. The graphic novel has created a huge buzz. Inspired by the film's story,two pages of the graphic novel,created by illustrator Baburajan Muliyankeezhil,are posted online every three days. Readers have got terribly hooked. So they return to read what's next. Muliyankeezhil has added life to the story even if the trailer of the film and a few pictures are his only reference points. That,and a thorough read of the film's script,have added a visual flavour to the graphic novel. Kurian is not worried about revealing the storyboard of the film in this manner. "Out of the two-hour film,one hour and 80 minutes will be up on the internet; only the climax will not be revealed. Theatrical release marks the end for most films but for mine,it will only be an extension," he says. As part of the film's marketing (the budget of which is around Rs 2 crores),there's also talk of an iPad application of the graphic novel,which will be made available within two days of its release. A second version of the application will follow,which will offer the whole movie,the graphic novel and the music. The Blueberry Hunt has another first to its credit. Two weeks ago,a contract was signed with Chill Om,an independent record label,which is planning a month-long,country-wide promotional tour starting later this month,besides producing an eight-track music album for the film. Two of those songs are currently available for free download. The hunt will only end once the film releases,because that is when the entire album will be available online.
