CASE STUDY
Crisis Management: Come Fall In Love
The Challenge
“Come Fall in Love” (CFIL) is a stage adaptation of Indian cinema’s most iconic film, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ). A genre-defining movie with the longest-ever continual run in theaters, DDLJ is beloved by generations of fans across the globe. In 2022, DDLJ’s original director, Aditya Chopra, wanted to bring his story, and by extension Bollywood, to Broadway. Following the show’s casting of a white man in the central love interest role, there was outrage amongst South Asian American fans and widespread allegations of whitewashing in entertainment media.
The Challenge
“Come Fall in Love” (CFIL) is a stage adaptation of Indian cinema’s most iconic film, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ). A genre-defining movie with the longest-ever continual run in theaters, DDLJ is beloved by generations of fans across the globe. In 2022, DDLJ’s original director, Aditya Chopra, wanted to bring his story, and by extension Bollywood, to Broadway. Following the show’s casting of a white man in the central love interest role, there was outrage amongst South Asian American fans and widespread allegations of whitewashing in entertainment media.
The Strategy
TASC established a game plan to repair the show’s reputation and ensure a smooth opening in San Diego that would help catapult CFIL to Broadway. The strategy included an audit and assessment of the situation — reviewing the facts of the story, which media outlets had covered the story, how messaging had previously been relayed to the media and strategizing an approach that would help overcome the negative narrative.
TASC worked with Chopra, Yash Raj Films and New Vintage Theatricals to pen a statement that shed light on the original creator’s vision for both the film as well as the stage adaptation, pitching it as an exclusive to Variety magazine, which was generally favorable toward Chopra and his work. TASC created a robust social media strategy to help the team behind CFIL navigate outrage online, encouraging the show’s actors and creative team to continue promoting the show and pushing back against the backlash. TASC also devised a strategy that would better position the show in media coverage around the opening, identifying outlets to share the CFIL story with, developing talking points and crisis response messages as well as providing media training for the cast and crew.
The Results
As a result of TASC’s work, CFIL was able to create a new narrative around the show and avoid further negative media coverage. Most crucially, media outlets that had previously reported negatively on the show did not cover the story again, showing that the strategy and messaging had been critical in righting the ship. CFIL opened in San Diego to rave reviews, which included very little about the controversy. The show was slated to head to Broadway in 2023 and has provided a platform for Aditya Chopra to fulfill his dream of bringing his art and this iconic love story to new audiences in the United States.
MEDIA COVERAGE
