Emraan Hashmi leads Balaji to innovatively promote Ek Thi Daayan

Not only does Vishal Bhardwaj Productions and Balaji Motion Pictures come out with films which are different in nature, but each time one of its films is being geared up for release, the production house comes out with an innovate kind of promotion. A similar kind of thing happened recently when the trailer of their forthcoming film Ek Thi Daayan was launched at a unique, first-of-its-kind themed event at Mumbai's Film City. Doing away with the staid press conference routine, Balaji put up an electrifying act by Emraan Hashmi and his daayans, at midnight, in an elaborate setting, featuring daayan (witch-faced) dolls hanging from tree tops and daayans at the entrance handing out misfortune cookies. Not only that, a bus that was carrying a section of the media from the entrance of the Film City to the studio floor was titled Bus to Hell. The guests were in for a shock, when they found themselves in the midst of a daayan with a long choti (plaits). The act was opened by Emraan Hashmi who performed a series of illusion stunts and eerie acts of magic live, before being joined by his leading ladies Huma Qureshi, Kalki Koechlin and Konkona Sen Sharma, any of whom could be the daayan. Or is there a fourth lady? The supernatural thriller, inspired by a short story by Mukul Sharma (Konkona Sen Sharma's father), offers an interesting mix of suspense, drama and jump-scares, is being tipped as the next big hit of Emraan Hashmi and Balaji Motion Pictures. The film releases worldwide on 18 April (2013).