It would indeed be a waste of talent, money and resources if a movie which involves all of those in its making, ends up not attracting audience for whom it is made in the first place. And in order to lure viewers into watching a film, proper marketing and promotional strategies need to be in place. Tamil cinema is at a day and age when even the usually reclusive Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman, who are not even infront of the camera, take the effort to promote their (hard)work for optimum appeal. 

Simultaneously, there are actors and big stars in Kollywood who do not believe in movie promotions. Actor Ajith is one of them and he recently issued a statement via his social-media-present manager that read, 

"A good film is promotion by itself!! - unconditional love!
Ajith

— Suresh Chandra (@SureshChandraa) October 31, 2022

Ajith's statement comes after talks of the actor making a public appearance for his upcoming film Thunivu, surfaced. However what Ajith might have forgotten is that movie promotions are not just meant for fans (who were understandably disappointed) but also to attract the appropriate audience for which a film is made. Most of Ajith's films are family-friendly entertainers and there is no reason not to make an appeal to this group via a public/TV appearance. 

Apa varala. 🥺

— Kapil Arasan (@kapil_lakshith) October 31, 2022

Also, we are at a day and age when movies and its audience are not restricted by parameters like languages. Every good film automatically qualifies for a PAN-Indian reach if marketed and promoted good as well. Case in point, for Vikram - an out and out Tamil film (and not unlike Thunivu in scale, genre, casting diversity, etc), Kamal Haasan went till Mumbai, Delhi and even appeared on Hindi TV shows for promoting his film. 

It left the Hindi audience asking for more shows of Vikram - a movie with no Hindi actors or technicians, and even complaining that the film's theatrical run was 'affected' due to 'lack of promotions' in that market.  So it is hard not to think that Ajith's statement regarding movie promotions may be naïve at best and outdated at worst. 

Ranchi bs ek hi multiplex me lagi hai bs wo 2 show...inko or show milna chahiye or bhi theater me lagni chahiye kyoki jo students log iss movie ko dekhna chahte hai wo nhi dekh pa rhe hai kyoki ticket price bohat mehangi hai.

— अकाश सिंह चंद्रवंशी (@akashkr119) June 8, 2022

Vikram didn't get enough screens. I have 2 Inox nearby & Vikram wasn't released in either.

— SRKian Manish Kumar (@filmykumar2020) June 20, 2022

He went to Delhi and gave interviews , so we can’t blame the crew , but a unique strategy is always needed to grab north audience attention . Something like big boss or coffee with Karan or some big events would have given the neccesary boost

— El_Dorado_Is_Mine (@Naflan37962507) June 8, 2022

Good commercial movies like #RRR #PS1, #Vikram and #KGF2 rely on promotions to make it pan-India & global.

Maniratnam, Kamal or Rajamouli do not sit back after making a great movie.

is #Ajith outdated/naive in believing promotions are not required assuming his movies are good?

— MovieCrow (@MovieCrow) October 31, 2022