Not only that, but Salman Khan has also shot for a special trailer that sees him talking about the Ali Abbas Zafar-directed period drama. The trailer will air on Star Sports from today in the run-up to the grand finale
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; May 10, 2019)

If cricket is a religion in the country, cinema comes a close second. Now, Salman Khan is combining the two forces for what is being touted as the biggest film from his stable, Bharat. mid-day has learnt that ahead of the Indian Premier League's (IPL) final on May 12, the actor and his Bharat co-star Katrina Kaif will host the pre-match show, Cricket Live.

Not only that, the superstar has also shot for a special trailer that sees him talking about the Ali Abbas Zafar-directed period drama. The trailer will air on Star Sports from today in the run-up to the grand finale.

Says a source, "The IPL integration is part of a marketing strategy devised under the supervision of Salman. He has done away with traditional promotional activities for the film and adopted new marketing techniques. He did not even have a trailer launch, choosing to directly release it online. Salman hopes to get maximum eyeballs with the IPL show since the T20 cricket league has reportedly registered 411 million viewers in its first four weeks."

Confirming the development, producer Nikhil Namit adds, "It's an unusual strategy that will have Salman and Katrina hosting the show. First, we attached the film's trailer with Avengers: Endgame to get maximum eyeballs; that worked. Now, we are adopting a similar strategy for television."