Well, Microsoft has tried out many ways to promote their current generation console in India. They had tied up with cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. They even came up with an Indianised Marcus Fenix! Now Microsoft has partnered with Yash Raj Films for the Bollywood movie Bachna Ae Haseeno.
So where does the gaming connection come? Well, the lead actor in Bachna Ae Haseeno, Ranbir Kapoor, plays a game developer, all this while romancing three actresses, Minissha Lamba, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone. Ranbir Kapoor is shown working on Xbox 360 games such as Gears of War and Halo 3.
Rahul Datta is the manager for marketing at Microsoft Entertainment and Devices division in India. He commented, “Xbox 360’s association with Bachna Ae Haseeno is a window into the natural partnership between India’s most fun and largest selling gaming and entertainment device and it’s most prominent entertainment option – Bollywood. The premier production house in the country choosing our games for the movie just shows how fast gaming is catching up amongst people of various age groups.”
He added, “And by putting gaming into the mainstream we are showcasing the fun associated with gaming to larger audiences. Also, the glamour associated with gaming as a career will ensure that game development also grows as a serious career option, something that the Xbox 360 team would be very happy to see growing in India.”
Bachna Ae Haseeno released on Friday, August 15, 2008. The producers chose Halo 3 and Gears of War as the games were the most popular games in eyes of the character. We caught a special screening of Bachna Ae Haseeno on eve of Independence Day and we can say that Microsoft has tried its best to promote the Xbox 360 in India.