The Guzaarish star spends on full-page ads featuring himself following producer UTV's decision not to shell out money on post-promotions

If the producer won't, the star will.

Yesterday, Hrithik Roshan shelled out Rs 10.5 lakh to release a full-page ad in a daily that screamed 'Experience Ethan's magic'.

The spread contained tweets from fans who watched his latest release Guzaarish and loved his character, Ethan, a paraplegic.

The 'voices' raved about the movie and in particular, his "amazing acting". Talk about self-promotion!

With producers UTV clamming on the publicity budget as box-office collections are not in the pink of health, the star took on the onus of advertising his character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's project. Expect more ads in coming weeks.

In bad taste

Moreover, Hrithik decided to use a snapshot of Ashutosh Tiwari, a paraplegic who passed away on November 21 by describing him as a 'true Ethan'. UTV has found it in bad taste and has decided to be totally disassociated from it.

B-Town buzz is that the star is desperate to tell the world that the film may have not worked but he has been loved.

Says a source, "On Monday, there was a sharp decline in collections and UTV was not keen on spending megabucks after the film's dismal opening.

Hrithik decided to pay from his own pocket for the film's post-release publicity centered around his acting skills." Considering he took home a Rs 15 crore fee for the film, this expenditure is loose change.

Adds the source, "The general perception was that the production house released the ads. But they were unaware of his personal publicity gameplan."

As reported (It's possible; HiTLIST, November 16), UTV head honcho Ronnie Screwvala had sent an email, inviting leading B -Town producers for a meeting at Yash Raj Studios to decide the best means to curb rising expenditures while making movies.

Screwvala's main area of concern was the spiralling expenditure on marketing a film which he thinks "is money being splurged on assuaging ourselves (the producers' fraternity) rather than money being spent to enlarge a market and grow the theatrical audience."

What Roshan says

This is ridiculous. How can anyone say I have paid for the ads? Who is saying this? Ashutosh passed away recently and the page will be a beautiful memory for his loved ones. It's an ode to the spirit that he was which changed my life. He was the true Ethan. I attended his chautha last evening and I've received so many blessings from his family.

What UTV says

Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV states, "Hrithik's performance as Ethan Mascarenhas has been lauded by critics and audiences worldwide. The objective of the ad was to convey the tremendous appreciation the film has received and to recognise the heroism of a real-life 'Ethan'. We are all part of one team and it is irrelevant who has borne the cost of the ad."

Shocker

In the CP-Berar territory, after estimating the total business of Guzaarish, distributors expect it to be less than that of the Mallika Sherawat-starrer Hissss!