Jab Harry Met Sejal on wheels: Raees debacle behind Shah Rukh Khan's absence from promotional bus tour?

Four days away from the release of Imtiaz Ali’s romantic comedy Jab Harry Met Sejal, the makers have accelerated the promotions. As an interesting part of their promotional strategy, they have launched the #JHMSOnWheels campaign on Twitter. According to this campaign, a Jab Harry Met Sejal themed bus will be touring the country. Fans who spot the bus and tweet their pictures along with the location of the bus will get a chance to meet the lead pair of the film, Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan, in person. The best pictures will be decided by the Jab Harry Met Sejal Team and the winners will be invited to meet the lead pair of the film.

Fans from across the length and breadth of the country responded to the campaign by tweeting selfies with the Jab Harry Met Sejal bus in the background.

However, it is interesting that the stars, particularly Shah Rukh, did not participate directly in the nationwide bus tour. The reason behind his absence could be the tragedy that occurred during the promotions of his last release and production, Rahul Dholakia’s gangster flick Raees. During the #RaeesOnRail promotional tour, Shah Rukh embarked on a train journey from Mumbai to Delhi in an effort to promote his film days before its release. However, as a result of his massive fan following, fans turned up in large numbers at the Vadodara railway station where the train halted for a few minutes. The ensuing stampede led to the tragic demise of one of the fans. The actor later expressed regret over how the promotional move backfired. However, earlier this month, he was summoned by a Vadodara court over the same incident. However, Gujarat High Court stayed the proceedings and fixed 25 September as the date of hearing. This could have been the reason why both Shah Rukh and Anushka have wisely distanced themselves from Jab Harry Met Sejal on Wheels yet got themselves incorporated into the campaign.