Dheeraj Mogilineni Says Pre-Release Events Are a Waste!

Film promotions these days have turned into a circus, loud music, fake hype, same speeches, same faces. Everyone claps, everyone yawns. But Dheeraj Mogilineni, the producer of The Girlfriend starring Rashmika Mandanna, finally said what half the people in the crowd are probably thinking anyway, these so-called pre-release events are a big, fat waste of money. And he didn’t say it softly either.

He was straight-up honest. Dheeraj said the film industry keeps throwing money at these grand functions that barely do anything for the movie. It’s like burning notes for applause. We need to promote films in smarter ways, he said, and yeah, he’s got a point. Every event looks like a replay of the last one, same lights, same heroes walking in late, same tired punchlines. It’s high time someone broke that loop and tried something fresh.

He also mentioned the weird pressure that comes with it. Apparently, if a producer doesn’t throw a huge pre-release bash, people start whispering that he’s broke or doesn’t believe in his own film. So they end up doing it just to avoid gossip. Add to that the must-include-every-hero rule, and it becomes less about the movie and more about managing egos. Dheeraj called it what it is, plain nonsense.

What he’s asking for isn’t rocket science. Just stop wasting energy on fluff and put that money where it matters, the film itself or some creative, genuine way of reaching people.