Abhi's wired

Fri, Jul 25 12:50 AM

His father is India's most popular blogger, and now Abhishek Bachchan also seems set to join the blogosphere. But until then, Abhi's getting some practice on Facebook.

The Facebook account he's working from is a fanclub for his movie Drona. Abhishek has uploaded personal photographs (of cast and crew working and chilling) and an on-location video.

Abhi has also captioned the pictures with characteristic wit. A shot of him working with a wooden plank has, "what they made me do in between shots!!! And you thought an actor's life was easy.

". For a photo of the film's producer, Shrishti Arya, he writes: "when the survival of directors will hang in the balance, only one producer will rise.

" He has started a forum where he has asked people what they expect from the movie to which readers have replied enthusiastically. The film's producer Shrishti Arya confirmed the club's authenticity: "Abhishek has started this fan club".

A spokesperson from Eros Entertainment elaborates, "Abhishek Bachchan has been actively involved in uploading pictures. He replies to questions, chats with fans.

He has not done all this as part of a marketing strategy, but out of his own will." The Drona fan club, started this year on May 16, so far has 912 fans.

While many believe that web visibility adds mileage to movies, others like director Nagesh Kukunoor believe it reaches only a small population. "Blogging is good for directors and actors to connect with fans but it doesn't connect you to the core Indian population, the masses, who do not use internet at all.

" But that's not worrying Abhishek as he trains with Whiskey (the horse) in Namibia, clicks pictures on their last day there, or rides on a quad bike dune safari - he knows how to get people's attention and market his movie even if that means reaching out only to a small portion of his audience.

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