“From what a PR gets, he might make a living. But from what a PR gives, he might make a life.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.” -Brendan Behan
“We are living in a world where perception is reality.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.” -Arthur Ashe
“The key to a great story is not who, or what, or when, but why.” -Tomorrow Never Dies
“Good publicity is good. Bad publicity is better. Ugly publicity is the best… because it travels the fastest and hits the hardest. The worst of all is no publicity.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“There is no news like bad news.” -Tomorrow Never Dies
“Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity and so we ask ourselves, will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we’re gone and wonder who we were? How bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved…” -Opening sequence of Troy
“Immortality is the recollection one leaves.” -Napoléon Bonaparte
“What happens when you don’t publicize.” “Nothing.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“If you wish in this world to advance your merits you’re bound to enhance; you must stir it and stump it, and blow your own trumpet, or, trust me, you haven’t a chance.” -William S. Gilbert
“PR is an intriguing mind game in a media minefield. But with the kind of reach a PR has, it becomes extremely important to keep PR ethics in mind while executing promotional strategies and branding brands. Otherwise, a PR can end up misleading society and causing havoc.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“Publicity is a great purifier because it sets in action the forces of public opinion, and public opinion controls the courses of the nation.” -Charles Evans Hughes
“It is insight into human nature that is the key to the communicator’s skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writings, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it. He therefore becomes a student of how people read or listen.” -William Bernbach
“Networking is a daily commitment, not a monthly ritual.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“PR means telling the truth and working ethically – even when all the media want is headlines and all the public wants is scapegoats. Public relations fails when there is no integrity.” -Viv Segal
“Visibility is one of the biggest determinants of celebrity, and certainly the poll list reflects that the most popular girls are those who are the most famous.” -FHM editor Neil Bierbaum, speaking about the FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.
“While industrialists make products in the factory, many brands are created in the minds of PRs.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh; but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones.” -Ecclesiastes
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.” -Daniel J. Boorstin
“When I ask myself the question: ‘Who is my favourite client?’ Most of the time, my mind answers: ‘The next one’.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“An image is not simply a trademark, a design, a slogan or an easily remembered picture. It is a studiously crafted personality profile of an individual, institution, corporation, product or service.” -Daniel J. Boorstin
“I’m a manipulator. It’s my job.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“You’ve got to find some way of saying it without saying it.” -Duke Ellington
“If a PR person lies to a reporter, he lies to one person. If a reporter lies, he lies to thousands, even lakhs. This simple thought should increase the responsibility of every PR to stand by ethics and truth.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” -Jim Morrison
“Protection and crisis management are gaining more importance in the PR profession than image-building and publicity.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does.” -Steuart Henderson Britt
“PR is a very complicated and scheming world today. And not many in the profession itself; have fully understood its tentacles.” -Dale Bhagwagar
“At the end of the day, ‘people buy people’. So spending time on your personal brand will pay dividends for years to come.” -Lesley Everett
“Live a bit in the present and a bit in the future, because the past is just like a newspaper. It loses its value next morning.” -Dale Bhagwagar
National Award-winning makeup and prosthetic designer Preetisheel Singh recently received an award for ‘Best Make Up and Hair’ for Padmaavat in the winner’s category of Power Brands: Bollywood Film Journalist’s Awards 2019. It can be noted that this is the second consecutive year she has bagged a Power Brand award.
“I am glad to see that my profession is beginning to finally getting appreciation at various awards. But some mainstream brands such as Screen Awards, Zee Awards, Stardust, Filmfare and IIFA are yet to give makeup and prosthetic industry the kind of appreciation and encouragement it deserves,” says Preetisheel. “Hundreds of makeup and prosthetic professionals give that glitter and shine to most films, but its only in recent times they are getting recognition,” she adds.
Preetisheel’s words matter much, as she is not only the foremost in makeup and prosthetic in the Indian film industry, but is also one of the rare names from Bollywood, who received a National Award for her work; that too for the very first movie, Sartaj Singh Pannu’s Nanak Shah Fakir.
Last year, she not only mesmerized the audiences as she went on to curate the look of Alauddin Khilji for Ranveer Singh in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat, but also received rave reviews for her work in Umesh Shukla’s 102 Not Out, Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk and Sriram Raghavan’s Andhadhun.
She made a roaring start this year by curating the look for Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray in the movie Thackeray directed by Abhijit Panse and presented by Sanjay Raut. “Preetisheel was a valuable asset for my film,” remarks director Abhijit. “Nawaz delivered exceptionally well as Balasaheb, but for him to look like Balasaheb, Preetisheel’s contribution was immense.”
The director continues the praise, saying, “Her (Preetisheel’s) seemingly effortless but perfect work to make Nawaz look like Balasaheb has definitely contributed to the success of the film. Not only Balasaheb, but the looks of Indira Gandhi, Manohar Joshi, Morarji Desai and Dattaji Salvi were so apt, they helped transport the thoughts of audience to that era.”
Please do NOT wish ladies Happy Women’s Day and stuff like that. Because if you do, you could be endorsing the notion that women are different or unequal, and need special days or preferential treatment to celebrate womanhood. Please treat all humans as equal. -Dale Bhagwagar #BeEqual #StayEqual #SayNoToWomensDay
As appeared on Urban Asian
Original article: https://urbanasian.com/whats-happenin/2017/03/feminism-is-bad-for-women-feels-bollywood-publicist-dale-bhagwagar/
“Being a PR guy talking about ‘feminism’, may seem as if I am siding with some of my controversial hoity-toity Bollywood clients. However, I feel that people from the Indian film industry often objectify the word,” says Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar who has been a publicist to some of the grittiest female celebrities.
As a Bollywood public relations professional and a spokesperson to many celebrities, over the years you’ve worked with several female clients who have been scrutinized by the media in one way or the other. What was your journey like, working with women in the spotlight?
Luckily, I have had a chance to work with some of the boldest and strongest ladies in the industry. I don’t know why they have an affinity towards me, but over time, mostly all my PR clients have blindly trusted me while I have been in charge of their brands and images. And that’s something I really feel proud about. Of course, my PR clients hire me for publicity, hype and crisis management… but I have always told them to follow their hearts. And you know what? The media automatically loves stars who do things from their heart.
Yes, we feel that is how Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother in the UK while you were handling the media for her in the outside world.
I worked with her for almost seven years, and found her to be one of the most genuine persons in Bollywood. Apart from being a good actress, she has always been a compassionate human being. And all that goodness worked for her magically on the reality show. See, on a show like Big Brother where cameras follow you 24×7, one can’t follow a PR strategy or have a plan. Because it could all go for a toss there. The best plan is to be your real self and if one is a good person, that comes across on TV. But then, Shilpa is much more than just a good person. She is also a fighter and that stood her in great stead on the show. Apart from winning it, she emerged an international icon against racism — a kind of unique brand for the whole world to look up to.
Aha! Love the way you describe it. You also handled the PR for Priyanka Chopra in her initial days as an actress. Didn’t you?
Yes, I found Priyanka an extremely focused and professional person. After she became Miss World, during her initial days in Bollywood, she faced a lot of controversies and it was interestingly challenging for me to handle her media work for around two years.
You’ve had several instances where your female clients were subject to false rumors and defamation. How easy or difficult is it for publicists to control such rumors about women when compared to male clients?
I’ve worked with a lot of male artists too, like Hrithik Roshan, Randeep Hooda, Govinda, Vivek Oberoi and even with the evergreen legend Dev Anand; a charmer of women even in his eighties. But let me be brutally honest with you. Handling the media for a female artist is much easier than publicizing with a male artist. Because the media is always more attracted towards the female form. Television media runs for footage, and the print and internet media laps up their pictures for news, web wallpapers or photo galleries. While I was looking after the PR for Shilpa Shetty, yesteryears Hollywood superstar Richard Gere planted pecks on her cheeks at an event, and the media went gaga over it terming the pecks as kisses. The news hit front page headlines and I had an amazing PR time encasing the hype for almost a month across all media platforms. I wonder if the media would have gone berserk like that if say, Angelina Jolie had planted pecks on an Indian male actor’s cheeks. Do you get the drift?
Yeah! Talking about hype, do you think Bollywood is frivolous about feminism?
Being a PR guy talking about ‘feminism‘, may seem as if I am siding with some of my controversial hoity-toity Bollywood clients. However, I feel that people from the Indian film industry often objectify even the word.
Any instances of women empowerment that you have dealt with, which stuck with you or taught you a life-lesson, if any?
Oh, there have been lots. Writer and filmmaker Vinta Nanda who has been one of my longest-running clients, has been a crusader when it comes to women empowerment. And I have had a lot of chances to work on social awareness projects with her. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that I am the only spin doctor from Bollywood who has managed loads of mileage for charity and social causes. I’ve publicized an annual conclave called Elevate dedicated to the uplift-ment of women, been part of the Jaag India Movement during Mumbai floods, The Village Project NGO, a short-film festival Vastav – The Reality, and a civil societies revolution movement Staying Alive. Plus, I’ve worked of the PR for projects of The Third Eye program in Mumbai; in partnership between the ‘Asian Centre for Entertainment Education’ (ACEE), India, and ‘Hollywood, Health and Society’ (HH&S), Norman Lear Centre, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA, and funded by The ‘Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation‘. All of these have centered around women and spearheaded by Ms Nanda. Apart from them, I’ve worked for Renuka Chaudhary’s (a former Union minister of State for Ministry of Women and Child Development in the Government of India) daughter, Poojita Chaudhary’s documentary Gender Bender. Also publicized Miss World Diana Hayden’s contribution to building homes in Los Angeles under a charity project called Power Women, Power Tools. And yes, apart from some thirty odd movies, I’ve handled the PR for Priety Zinta’s woman-oriented super-hit starrer Kya Kehna during the time I started out in my profession.
That’s quite a lot indeed. But you mentioned the words “spin doctor” while answering that. As a PR specialist, do you even need to spin for social causes.
Lol. I should admit, you are good at catching words!! Yes, I do spin for PR of social projects too. Thing is, the media wants spice all the time and social causes would be drab for them to publish if I wouldn’t highlight the glamorous aspects in them. So I do play with words to an extent, as long as its ethical and I’m not bluffing or crossing the line. I’m pretty old-school. I’ve been a journalist before turning PR. Ethics matter a lot to me even when I have to sensationalize news for the gossip hungry media.
According to you what reforms are necessary in India to achieve equality?
The biggest reform should be to first banish the word ‘feminism‘. In my opinion, there shouldn’t be anything like feminism at all. Because the very word brings a thought, not about distinction, but about differentiation — which makes it bad for women. It muddles up the whole concept of equality. Feminism represents the fight to be equal. But when women are equal to men, why do they need the subject of feminism. The more people talk and scream about feminism, the more they highlight inequality. Isn’t it? But if we still have to use the word with the meaning it was coined with, then I feel ‘feminism‘ should be talked about in the sense of something to be felt and realized — not something which needs to be spoken about town or asserted in media. According to me, a true feminist would be a person who realizes its essence without having to speak the word ever.
While majority victims in domestic cases are females, males who face the brunt of domestic violence are often ignored. What are your thoughts on this statement?
Sometimes females do misuse their gender and explore loopholes in law. I have been approached by a couple of actresses who wanted to go to the police station or send legal notices to guys to attract media attention. It’s a PR, PR, PR world and I am not averse to that kind of publicity. But I cross-question such actresses and investigate with my past journalistic instincts to find out if their case is genuine. If it is, I personally accompany them to the police station with the media in tow. But if their case is not genuine, I do not support them in PR and even discourage them from trying to derive publicity with fake news.
Apart from the ones you mentioned, which are the other strong women celebrities you have worked with?
That would be actress and fashion philanthropist Evelyn Sharma, actresses and title holders like Miss India InternationalPooja Batra, Miss India International Priya Gill, Gladrags MegaModel winner Rupali Suri, Miss India Universe Nikita Anand, Miss University World and Miss India Talent winner Kashmera Shah, Miss India Natasha Suri, Rakhi Sawant, Godwoman Radhe Maa whose PR I handle through work for her patrons Global Advertisers, Bigg Boss finalist Mandana Karimi, International chess master Dhyani Dave, Pakistani superstar Meera, filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi for whom I handled a very controversial event once, the late superstar Rajesh Khanna’s partner Anita Advani, actresses Nandana Sen, Sameera Reddy, Shamita Shetty, Divya Dutta, Neetu Chandra, Arjumman Mughal, Sambhavna Seth, Bidita Bag, Narmmadaa Ahuja, Rakul Preet, Soma Mangnaanii, Sherlyn Chopra, Sonali Raut, plus singers Anaida and Carlyto Mohini. These are undoubtedly some of the strongest women I have handled PR for. Am proud of them all.
WRITER
As appeared on Bollywood Couch
by Akshay Patil – February 22, 2019
Controversies like Cobrapost stings dent celeb reputations. Celebs need to earn big bucks from time to time, to support their brand and lifestyle, and maintain their larger-than-life aura. Such controversies when unchecked, slow down business opportunities for celebs and that’s not a good thing, says Mumbai-based PR guru Dale Bhagwagar.
Even before the dust settles on the #MeToo movement in India, thanks to the Cobrapost stings, the film industry is once again in the dock. But recently, Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar has put up a post on his Facebook, which actually makes for a fantastic case study on how celebrities can be vigilant and save themselves from sting operations.
Or even how they can hire a crisis management expert to boldly tackle or spin the situation in their favour after the sting, in a way that the stinger himself/herself gets exposed.
Stinging the sting
Here is what the public relations specialist has posted: “Got to know that most of these latest Cobrapost interviews doing the rounds, were actually done a year ago. They reminded me of an interesting incident. Four months ago, a girl claiming to be a budding actress befriended me on WhatsApp,” writes Dale who has handled the personal PR for top filmstars such as Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi, publicity for movies starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and others, apart from PR for 20 scandalous contestants of India’s No. 1 reality show Bigg Boss.
Dale’s Facebook post describes the meeting with this so-called budding actress with some intriguing details. “We met over coffee at CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) in Oshiwara to discuss PR and proceeded for dinner at a nearby restaurant. In between our candid conversation about PR and the film industry, from the discussion and her body language, my sixth sense told me something was strange. She was encouraging me to talk and probing once in a while. Some of her choice of words were not those of an amateur or an upcoming actress. I suspected she was video recording me,” he writes.
Gotcha!
The Bollywood publicist elaborates, “So I casually glanced at her watch, dress buttons and accessories to check if there was any sting camera lens, but couldn’t spot any. I finally zeroed down on her handbag and specifically a metal emblem on it, but I still couldn’t spot any lens, as I was sitting at a metre’s distance from it. The handbag was kept at an angular position on the table. Just to make sure, on the pretext of admiring it, I leaned forward and subtly picked and moved it a bit.”
“As I did that, I marked her expression and reflexes. Flummoxed for a second, she immediately put the handbag back in exactly the same position with the same angle tilt. A few seconds later, she gave a stray look at it, as if to check it was facing the correct direction. The only thing she failed to realize was that my eyes were catching every nuance.”
Playing the PR game
“But I did not let her know and went with the flow of the candid conversation. In fact, now I consciously kept it cool and spiced it up too. I even made up and exaggerated some statements… the kind we call ‘quotable quotes’ in journalism and PR. I also made sure that sat stylishly and smiled more than I normally do,” admits the Mumbai-based entertainment PR expert.
“But I’m still waiting for something like Cobrapost on me to come out somewhere. I do Crisis Management for actors in such situations. So it would be good fun for me to see how I deal with a similar situation on myself. #WhenDaleStungTheSting #BeingDale #GameOn #GoodFun #DaleHasEaglesEyes,” Dale concludes on Facebook.
Celebs in the dock
For the record, the recent Cobrapost sting operation targeted 36 Bollywood celebrities. In an investigation dubbed Operation Karaoke, Cobrapost personnel are said to have posed as employees of a fictitious public relations agency, using aliases.
The sting operation revealed that actors Jackie Shroff, Vivek Oberoi, Sonu Sood, Shakti Kapoor, Mahima Chaudhry, Amisha Patel, Shreyas Talpade, Surendra Pal, Sambhavna Seth, Puneet Issar, Pankaj Dheer and his son Nikitin Dheer, and playback singers Kailash Kher, Mika Singh, Baba Sehgal and Abhijeet Bhattacharya were willing to post favourable messages on social media for political parties.
The list goes on
Other movie artistes on the list included Sunny Leone, Poonam Pandey, Rakhi Sawant, Aman Verma, Tisca Chopra, Deepshikha Nagpal, Akhilendra Mishra, Rohit Roy, Rahul Bhat, Salim Zaidi, Hiten Tejwani and spouse Gauri Pradhan, Koena Mitra, Evelyn Sharma, Minissha Lamba, comedians Raju Srivastava, Krushna Abhishek, Rajpal Yadav, Sunil Pal, Upasana Singh, Vijay Ishwarlal Pawar aka VIP and choreographer Ganesh Acharya.
Much ado about nothing
When we contacted Dale to ask if the targeted film celebrities should sue Cobrapost, his reply surprised us even more than the way he’d attentively caught the sting-in-progress.
“What Cobrapost has done is something any yellow journalism site would do. We can have an endless debate about breach of privacy, about media conning celebrities and making them scapegoats of their pre-planned agenda. But such desperate forms of journalism (if it can be called that) is not new and has happened a lot in America and Britain over the years. Some media outlets take undue liberties in the name of the freedom of the press,” remarks the top Bollywood publicist.
Having said that, he goes on to explain, “If we put emotions and the Cobrapost’s nationalistic spin aside, we will all realize that their videos have made much ado about nothing. Come to think of it, everyone, including political parties, need and indulge in aggressive marketing in today’s times.”
“They hire the best and topmost advertising, marketing and PR agencies to execute their strategies. And who better than popular celebrities to promote their agenda. It’s a cool thing and a done thing.” True that! After all, it’s a PR PR PR world.
Celebs unable to handle spin
“It’s just that Cobrapost seems to have scripted and edited stuff, and presented it as if it’s something jaw-dropping. It really isn’t. Cobrapost has given it a devious spin and our celebs seem to be struggling to manage this new crisis situation on their own,” analyses Dale.
Guarding brand equity and business
“This Cobrapost controversy will disappear and die much faster than #MeToo, though part of the damage will linger, denting overall brand-value; just like #MeToo left an image-damaging trail,” he predicts. “Celebs need to earn big bucks from time to time, to support their brand and lifestyle, and maintain their larger-than-life aura. Such controversies when unchecked, slow down business opportunities for celebs and that’s not a good thing,” says Dale.
So what’s the way out of such situations for the future? “We can take a leaf out of Hollywood here. Like it happens in the West, Bollywood celebs need to cut off direct access outside their inner circle and let the professionals take over — managers, advertising personnel, marketers, social media experts, PR professionals, spokespersons, spin doctors and crisis management specialists. Actors need to focus on acting and earning, not on management.”
Dale feels “that’s the only way forward, if celebrities wish to keep their aura, image and brand intact in the fast-changing ruthless digital landscape. Otherwise, all this ruckus leads to an unnecessary loss of brand equity and business.”
As appeared on Asian Age
http://www.asianage.com/entertainment/bollywood/150219/afraid-to-have-an-opinion.html
THE ASIAN AGE. | OISHANI MOJUMDER
Young actors of tinsel town have often been lip-locked about matters of political conflict.
Bollywood and politics have always had a love-hate relationship. Recently, Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt during an interview were asked about their stand on the underlying political message in the song Azaadi – a track from their recently released movie Gully Boy. Brushing aside the question nonchlantly and their claim to be “apolitical” and too “busy with their personal lives” to comment on politics did not sit with their fans, viewers and the netizens. Both the young stars were called too “privileged” enough to be able to call themselves “apolitical” in the current environment of the country.
But the industry has had its fair share of political razzmatazz, with movies portraying political honchos to the touchy topics of religion, mythology, sex and terrorism. So what prevents today’s young stars from providing any comment which has the slightest political slant?
Says Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar, the primary reason is fear. “The fear is not only of ostracization but also fear of losing monetary value – in terms of upcoming movies being boycotted, infrastructure being broken or releases being stalled. This has nothing to do with the current government. Rather, this has been happening through the ages,” he says, citing examples of various political parties known for their pressure tactics.
“Shiv Sena is infamous for violent protests against films – ranging from burning posters to vandalising theatres. The Congress too, which is known to be a fairly balanced political party, has a student wing – NSUI – that has also participated in such vandalistic protests,” he adds.
Abhishek Thukral, another celebrity manager is of the opinion that every actor is selling their film, and that making a political statement will definitely hamper the marketing of the film. “A comment that can be blown up by the media completely takes away from the film or the project that they are promoting. And the media, out of the entire press conference, will pick up that one political statement, instead of giving any mileage to the film whatsoever,” explains Thukral, adding, “Actors do speak about their views and current affairs when there is no movie being released. But there is so much negativity and hatred in the country with regards to politics that celebrities get death threats, actresses get rape threats. The situation can get very nasty.”
Resonating with a similar idea, Dale says, “Earlier, when print was one of the only media of news dissemination, a reaction to a celebrity’s comment would come as letters to the editor and a controversy would take at least a day to brew. Then with the boom of television, one got to know of controversies in a matter of hours. Now, with the advent of social media, not only does the controversy spread like wildfire but with apps and technology, it has become very easy to cut, edit and distort a statement given by a celebrity. Sensationalism is not the only issue now, fake news tops the list. And therefore celebrities are wary and rightfully so.”
But it is not only personal comments that celebrities refuse from making. Collectively, Bollywood has rarely taken a stand on socio-political issues. Take the case of the recent #MeToo wave in India, where no one much came out in support of the survivors and victims in India’s tinsel towns.
Dale Bhagwagar explains, “One needs to first understand that Bollywood is not a family or a fraternity. It is an industry with extremely insecure people where each person will have another’s back only till the favour is returned. So for Bollywood to stand together against a common evil is a far cry. Everyone is looking out for themselves, unlike Hollywood, where they are a very professional industry.”
Celebrity manager Prabhat Chaudhary opines that if people are looking up to actors and actresses as role models, then the country is facing a major ideological bankruptcy. “We expect actors to act well, be well-read, be aware of current affairs and be a role model all at once. That is unfair. Actors are people who do their jobs and earn money. In the process of their jobs, they get famous. But they are in no way obliged to make political statements if they do not want to,” he concludes.
As appeared on Deccan Chronicle
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/150219/afraid-to-have-an-opinion.html
DECCAN CHRONICLE. | OISHANI MOJUMDER
Shiv Sena is infamous for violent protests against films — ranging from burning posters to vandalising theatres.
Mumbai: Bollywood and politics have always had a love-hate relationship. Recently, Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt during an interview were asked about their stand on the underlying political message in the song Azaadi — a track from their recently released movie Gully Boy. Brushing aside the question nonchlantly and their claim to be “apolitical” and too “busy with their personal lives” to comment on politics did not sit well with their fans, viewers and the netizens. Both the young stars were called too “privileged” enough to be able to call themselves “apolitical” in the current environment of the country.
But the industry has had its fair share of political razzmatazz, with movies portraying political honchos to the touchy topics of religion, mythology, sex and terrorism. So what prevents today’s young stars from providing any comment which has the slightest political slant?
Says Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar, the primary reason is fear. “The fear is not only of ostracisation but also fear of losing monetary value — in terms of upcoming movies being boycotted, infrastructure being broken or releases being stalled. This has nothing to do with the current government. Rather, this has been happening through the ages,” he says, citing examples of various political parties known for their pressure tactics.
“Shiv Sena is infamous for violent protests against films — ranging from burning posters to vandalising theatres.
The Congress too, which is known to be a fairly balanced political party, has a student wing — NSUI — that has also participated in such vandalistic protests,” he adds.
Abhishek Thukral, another celebrity manager is of the opinion that every actor is selling their film, and that making a political statement will definitely hamper the marketing of the film. “A comment that can be blown up by the media completely takes away from the film or the project being promoted. And the media, out of the entire press conference, will pick up that one political statement, instead of giving any mileage to the film,” explains Thukral, adding, “Actors do speak about their views and current affairs when there is no movie being released. But there is so much negativity and hatred in the country with regards to politics that celebrities get death threats, actresses get rape threats. The situation can get very nasty.”
Resonating with a similar idea, Dale says, “Earlier, when print was one of the only media of news dissemination, a reaction to a celebrity’s comment would come as letters to the editor and a controversy would take at least a day to brew. Then with the boom of television, one got to know of controversies in a matter of hours. Now, with the advent of social media, not only does the controversy spread like wildfire but with apps and technology, it has become very easy to cut, edit and distort a statement given by a celebrity. Sensationalism is not the only issue now, fake news tops the list. And therefore celebrities are wary and rightfully so.”
But it is not only personal comments that celebrities refuse from making. Collectively, Bollywood has rarely taken a stand on socio-political issues. Take the case of the recent #MeToo wave in India, where no one much came out in support of the survivors and victims in India’s tinsel towns.
Dale Bhagwagar explains, “One needs to first understand that Bollywood is not a family or a fraternity. It is an industry with extremely insecure people where each person will have another’s back only till the favour is returned. So for Bollywood to stand together against a common evil is a far cry. Everyone is looking out for themselves, unlike Hollywood, where they are a very professional industry.”
Celebrity manager Prabhat Chaudhary opines that if people are looking up to actors and actresses as role models, then the country is facing a major ideological bankruptcy. “We expect actors to act well, be well-read, be aware of current affairs and be a role model all at once. That is unfair. Actors are people who do their jobs and earn money. In the process of their jobs, they get famous. But they are in no way obliged to make political statements if they do not want to,” he concludes.
As appeared on Medium
The Khans — Salman, Aamir and Shah Rukh — have been ruling the entertainment business since ages. They have been beating every list and have stayed in best form and at the top of their game since three decades now.
And though all of them have faced disasters last year with their movies Race 3, Thugs of Hindostan and Zero, “there is no chance they are gonna slow down anytime soon,” feels Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar.
In fact, Dale says he is sure they will come up with “superb surprises and even more wonderful performances in the years to come.” When asked, how long does he think the audiences will patronize their brands, the Bollywood publicist says, “The one who manages to cater and appeal to the current school kids the most, should last the longest.”
And which Khan could that be? “Currently, its Aamir who seems to have that advantage. Though Salman’s craze is said to be more in the nook and corners of India, and SRK enjoys great popularity even abroad; its Aamir who understands PR and strategy better. So I won’t be surprised if the baby-faced Aamir lasts the longest.”
“Plus, having built much of his career on experimenting with roles and keeping that image intact film after film, he will be able to adapt better to change, and may even age more gracefully than many others in the industry,” analyses the Mumbai-based public relations expert. Whoa! That’s an interesting analysis indeed. Hai na?
And Aamir is now even expanding his market to China — the country with the highest population in the world. So yes, he has surely got his finger on the pulse of Gen Z.
As appeared on Filmy Sansaar
https://filmysansaar.com/blog/kangana-ranauts-sis-says-krish-directed-all-of-manikarnika/
By Saajan Verma
Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel had earlier stated: “I officially declare Kangana shot 70 percent of the film (Manikarnika).” But responding to allegations and controversies from Manikarnika director Krish and Simran writer Apurva Asrani, Kangana’s sister changed her stance.
Rangoli who often doubles up somewhat as Kangana’s spokesperson, frustratingly tweeted: “@DirKrish, Chalo man Liya you directed the whole film now please calm down, still Kangana is the leading face of the film let her enjoy this moment of her success and great appreciation, please leave her alone, we all believe you now please take a seat” (sic).
Kangana Ranaut in a still from Manikarnika (Image courtesy – Internet.)
But brand issues just don’t seem to leave Kangana. Apart from recent problems with Sonu Sood who walked out of Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi, the actress is also rumored to have reduced the roles of veteran actors Danny Denzongpa, Khulbhushan Kharbanda and Suresh Oberoi, making them look like wannabes in her movie, after she took over the directorial reigns.
Kangana Ranaut in a still from Manikarnika (Image courtesy – Internet.)
With one controversy after another, Kangana’s name and brand are taking a solid beating in the Indian Film Industry. Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar says its best Kangana changes this in the near future. “Kangana has a fiery brand; that is fine. She has transformed herself into a fashion statement and has a definite set of followers. But the thing is, what she seems to understand as attacks or defense in media, actually image disasters, ultimately warranting crisis management.”
Kangana Ranaut in a still from Manikarnika (Image courtesy – Internet.)
“That situation could be rectifiable, but first the subject has to agree to accept it as an issue, be ready to understand the true difference between imaging and hype — then take measures to begin changing the situation step by step,” states the Mumbai-based PR specialist.
But Kangana has her fans and successes intact. Why would she want to change this bad-girl image? “Because, with a little course correction, she can make much bigger monies in advertising,” replies Dale. Ah! We never thought about that! Point taken.
As appeared on Talk of the Town
The list of complaints about Kangana Ranaut just doesn’t seem to end. After her recent issues with Krish (the director of her latest film Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi); now Apurva Asrani (the writer of Kangana’s popular film Simran), has come out complaining on Twitter.
We asked Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar, whether this manipulative image of Kangana could ruin her career. But he replied in the negative! “As long as Kangana delivers successes, her loyalists will stick by her,” he predicts.
“She may not get many A-grade movies or top corporate advertising brands signing her. But mind you, she has already mastered the art of making a mark in the relatively lesser budget flicks. She has managed considerably well in the industry without the Khans, Kumar and Kapoors. That has been working wonderfully for her until now,” says the Bollywood publicist.
Meanwhile, trade critics have reported that Manikarnika, after a sluggish start, is doing brisk business in India and abroad. Opening in 2,900 screens across 50 countries, the film’s business has reportedly crossed 40 crores by now. It’s been released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
As appeared on Cine Eye
http://cineeye.xyz/2018/11/15/tanushree-duttas-metoo-takes-nana-patekar-international/
The world’s leading pirate site YIFY aka YTS normally only uploads Hollywood movie torrents. But seemingly because of all the uproar caused by motor-mouth Tanushree Dutta’s spin on Nana Patekar, the latter’s epic Marathi-language film Natsamrat seems to have found a coveted place on the international YIFY Hollywood-centric website this week.
“When Hollywood looks at the Indian film industry, it only pays attention to Bollywood’s Hindi films. It almost ignores regional cinema and the huge and tech-savvy South film industry too,” points out Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar. “So inspite of this being a matter involving piracy, it’s interesting that a Marathi film has been put along with Hollywood films,” he remarks.
For the record, Femina Miss India and actress Tanushree Dutta who had fallen into near obscurity, returned to India from the United States of America last month, and dragged acclaimed actor Nana Patekar in almost a decade-old matter; alleging that he had looked at her with bad intentions, and wanted to touch and feel her on the sets of a film she was to perform an item number in.
The controversy-hungry media promptly fell for Tanushree’s words and labelled it a #MeToo episode, crediting her as the spearleader of the international #MeToo movement in India’s Bollywood, which earlier began in Hollywood with dozens of women accusing American film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse over a period of at least 30 years.
The Nana Patekar starrer Natsamrat (roughly translated as king of the theater) was directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and officially released in India in 2016, receiving tremendous word-of-mouth publicity. It portrayed the tragic life of a stage actor, who retires from acting, but is unable to forget his fond memories of theatre, drama and stage. Considered a classic, it emerged as the highest-grossing Marathi film of all time, until Sairat occupied that place later the same year.
YIFY has uploaded the film in 720p and 1080p resolutions. It is also worth mentioning that Natsamrat has garnered a spectacularly high 9.2 star out of 10 star rating on IMDB (Internet Movie Database).
