I am not saying that I really believe all these are marketing ploys or PR attempts to bring in good-will for the people involved which would in-turn make them laugh all the way to the bank.
Had an interesting conversation with a friend about how controversies helped movies to become a big hit, and seems (at times, pretty obvious).
My Name is Khan: The controversy helped the movie as well as the defunct Shiv Sena share headlines.
3 Idiots: Most the movie and the author made money
Kaminey: The rumours about Shahid-Priyanka love affair made many people go to the theatres to check them out.
Any movie with MallIka Sherawat: Well, just the news that she wearing clothes (if you call them clothes) or the so-called ‘leaked news’ about her kissing scenes make people go to her movies.
The list is long, you can find out yourself and would say, “Yeah, it did help these movies!!!”