So good was the campaign and so high is the brand value of King Khan, aka Shahrukh Khan, that even some mainstream media fell for it. If SRK is announcing the launch of his own streaming platform, it’s newsworthy.

In the end, it turned out to be a brilliant marketing campaign —- for Disney+Hotstar — that unabashedly rides SRK’s brand value, wit and an inherent sense of humour.

To be honest, even we at Indianbroadcastingworld.com got taken in by it (http://www.indianbroadcastingworld.com/shahrukh-khan-launches-his-own-ott-platform/). When the truth dawned on us — like on many other media outlets — we had a hearty laugh and muttered ‘bura na mano Holi hai’ (don’t mind it, it’s Holi — a time when pranks are played out and forgiven).

On Wednesday the suspense was lifted by Sidharth Shakdher, EVP and MO, Disney+Hotstar.

In a LinkedIn post Shakdher said:  #ThodaRukShahRukh Yes, it’s true, he wanted to launch his own OTT app, SRK+ 🙂 Never easy asking the Superstar Badshah of Bollywood to stop what he’s doing and wait for a while ….. but marketing @ Disney+ Hotstar has always been about raising the bar and doing the unthinkable 🙂 Your first look at Disney+ Hotstar’s annual marquee Brand + IPL marketing curtain raiser! Thank you to the amazing team that’s defining marketing standards for consumer tech ….. Utkarsh Kichlu Viswanathan V. huzefa kapadiaMaya Krishnan Arvind Krishnan Vinil Mathew Swadha Aditi Sethi Roopa Sharma Shweta Poojari (she/her/hers) Utkarsh Ujjwal Aneesh Ayyapan Ajeet Shukla “The power of a person’s life (or their journey in an organization) is the stories they leave behind” #ott #entertainment#marketing #digitalmarketing #streamingvideo #ottadvertising #streamingwars #indiabusiness#startupgrowth #startupstories #startupbusiness #leadership.”

But, to be honest, SRK launching his own OTT platform, SRK+, is definitely news; only if King Khan had not got dissuaded by Disney+Hotstar to postpone the launch of SRK+.

After demanding a party from SRK for the impending launch of SRK+ Tuesday, Salman Khan on Wednesday tweeted: “Zindagi mein do cheezein kabhi underestimate mat karna – @iamsrkand his sense of humour. SRK+ aaye na aaye, maza bahut aaya #ThodaRukShahRukh (Don’t underestimate two things in life: SRK and his humour. Whether SRK+ launches or not, but enjoyed the whole concept.”

Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios, paid a direct complement to the people who had conceptualised the campaign when he tweeted: “This entire campaign must be applauded for how endearingly the brand has ridden on SRK humour & charm. Absolutely maza aa gaya…”

So, the wait for SRK+ streaming platform has got a little longer (!!), irrespective of the fact whether Anurag Kashyap makes hit shows for it or not. Remember, Holi is round the corner! Smile.