The Indianisation of Sunny Leone 

Currently lodged in Bigg Boss, international porn star Sunny Leone has a new trick up her sleeve for her official website. This week, the site saw a bit of a revamp and a ‘new look’ with a special banner having sentences added in Hindi on the home page.

Obviously, the porn sensation, who plans to make a big splash in the Indian market, is aiming to spruce up her brand and image and make it slightly India-compatible, while retaining its core porn-USPs, before she makes her Bollywood debut after Bigg Boss.

“Sunny Leone is in the business of exposure and awareness. Entertainment and hype are her tools and ammunition,” remarks celebrity publicist Dale Bhagwagar; a specialist with Bigg Boss, having handled the media for the maximum number of controversial celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Ashmit Patel, Sherlyn Chopra, Pooja Misrra and Amar Upadhyay (Bigg Boss).

“Make no mistake!Indiais a huge and lucrative market for Brand Sunny Leone. Though Sunny is based out ofCanada, we should not forget that she is born Karen Malhotra and has Indian origins. With her appearance and demure behaviour on India’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss, she is obviously trying to sanitize and Indianize her porn star brand and image,” the Bollywood PR expert points out.

“The new Indianized look of her international website with Hindi lines added on the new improved homepage, is just a step further in that direction,” he adds.

Sunny has already expressed her intentions of entering Bollywood. Dale even asserts that his sources tell him that apart from Mahesh Bhatt, who discussed his forthcoming film Jism 2 with Sunny on Bigg Boss, even Salman Khan is planning a film with her.

“So whether the conservatives like it our not, the time has come to accept Sunny Leone as part of our entertainment industry. In fact, from a PR point of view, further resistance from Indian audiences will only translate into more power to her existence in the Indian entertainment industry,” Dale analyses.

“Saddam Hussein was found by American troops hiding in a little bunker inIraq. Osama Bin Laden was found by American forces hiding in a house compound inPakistan. Muammar Gaddafi was captured by rebel militia while hiding a drain underneath a road inLibya. And Pakistani starlet Veena Malik was found by the Indian media hiding in a suburban hotel in Mumbai,” shootsIndia’s biggest firebrand Rakhi Sawant in her inimitable style.

Veena who is all set to participate in a televised Swayamvar titled Veena Ka Vivah on Imagine TV, a programme Rakhi made famous with her participation earlier, has been in the news for her nude photoshoot in FHM magazine this month.

Rakhi believes Veena has insulted all Pakistanis, including the country’s governance, military and intelligence, by getting an ISI tattoo painted on her hand while doing the controversial FHM photoshoot.

She says, “Veena is doing all kinds of cheap gimmicks to gain publicity for herself and the show. I can bet she will not marry anyone on it. She is fooling the whole ofIndia,Pakistanand even her own family. She has given her boyfriend Ashmit Patel’s residence address on the legal notice she has sent to FHM. On one hand, she is in a live-in relationship with Ashmit, and on the other hand, she wants someone else to marry her.”

“I won’t be surprised if Veena now comes up with a break-up publicity stunt with Ashmit to make her Swayamvar drama look credible. When I did Swayamvar, I went with a clean intention and open mind. But all this marriage business by Veena inIndiais a farce and the Indian audiences are being fooled in the name of a sacred institution like marriage.”

“Which self-respecting man will marry a girl who has done a nude photoshoot and is living-in with another man. This is just the beginning. As time goes by I will expose her completely. Even Bal Thackeray has said today that Veena should be sent back toPakistan.”

Rakhi’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar says, “Veena may not be a bad person, but it seems she is not in control of her PR activities, and they end up like publicity stunts. Today, PR is an intriguing mind game in a media minefield. With the kind of reach PR has, it becomes extremely important to keep ethics in mind while executing promotional strategies and branding brands. Otherwise, a PR can end up misleading society and causing havoc. And sadly, that’s what seems to have happened in Veena Malik’s case.”

After being unfairly targeted and evicted as a contestant from Bigg Boss 5 and going in for a short second entry as a guest on the show, Pooja Misrra is seeking to prop up her image and has hired Bollywood public relations expert Dale Bhagwagar this week, for a specific period of a month to do an image turnaround.

The publicist had refrained from taking on Pooja’s work earlier citing conflict of interest, as he also handles another contestant Amar Upadhyay during his stint in Bigg Boss 5. But now, since Pooja is no longer in the race for the finale, he agreed to handle her officially and help her with image and crisis management.

For the record, Pooja Misrra was ousted from the House for an alleged assault on co-contestant Siddharth Bhardwaj. She was apparently removed for physically pushing Siddharth on the show, after the latter blew a situation out of proportion and demanded her exit.

Initially targeted by Pooja Bedi, Misrra was made the butt of many jokes, after which she shot back and fought her way with each and every contestant of the show. Millions of viewers identified with her arguments, realizing her plight and urge for space, resulting in Pooja surviving the maximum number of evictions on the show with a mega margin of public votes. Her most famous comment on the show “Spare me” has now become popular lingo all over the country.

“Pooja Misrra was the biggest entertainer and the soul of the season when she first entered Bigg Boss. After her sudden eviction, the public wanted her back as a contestant, competing for the finals. But that couldn’t happen, and Pooja had to merely return as Andrew Symonds’s translator and make frantic attempts to rectify her spoilt reputation. Whereas if she was a contestant, she could have fought back tooth and nail to reach the finals,” said Dale, who was earlier labeled Pooja’s ‘guerrilla publicist’ by the media before she hired him this week.

A specialist with Bigg Boss, Dale has handled the media for the maximum number of celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Vindu Dara Singh, Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Sherlyn Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Zulfi Syed, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss), IshQ Bector (Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachcho), Natasha Suri (Big Switch) and more. Another Bigg Boss winner Rahul Roy has been Dale’s close friend, while the controversial Ashmit Patel was his client during his stint in Bigg Boss last year.

Even Pakistani actress Veena Malik got invited on the show because of a controversy with Neetu Chandra, yet another of Dale’s clients. Earlier, the PR specialist is known to have discussed media strategies with Ali Merchant for both, him and Sara Khan, and to have received an offer to handle Rahul Bhatt.

Before Bigg Boss Season 5 rolled, Dale also spoke to contestants Shakti Kapoor, Mahek Chahal and Juhi Parmar and discussed the show with them.

Defending charges by Bigg Boss participants and some people outside, on Amar Upadhyay being a ‘game player’ on the show, his publicist Dale Bhagwagar says, “Bigg Boss is a game show as much as it is termed a reality show and Amar is playing his game. Big deal!”

“When a chess player plays a game with a strategy, do we say, ‘he’s a game player’? When a cricketer plays on the field with a game plan, do we say, ‘he’s a game player’? So when a reality show contestant plans or strategies, why should we term him a ‘game player’ in a derogatory sense,” asks Dale.

The PR specialist further reasons that we all know Bigg Boss is an entertainment-based show full of gigs and tasks. The participants are fully aware that they are followed by cameras 24×7 and even watched from two-way mirrors. They are also wearing mikes while talking.

“If Amar cleverly and smartly uses some tactics to his advantage, why should we raise questions about morality? Just like a game of chess, he has gone to Bigg Boss to play his game and reach the top, not to make relations with all contestants. Yes, if in process, he makes some real and genuine friends; that would be excellent,” says the publicist.

He adds, “At the end of it, everyone is competing with each other on Bigg Boss. So it’s unfair to brand only Amar as a ‘game player’. It’s just that he plays it a bit more obviously than others. That should be viewed as transparency, rather than deceit.”

Indeed, everyone is a player on Bigg Boss and as viewers we do need to understand that, rather than singling out Amar Upadhyay. Point taken! Topic closed!

Will this be injustice towards Pooja Misrra

According to latest reportsIndia’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss will let one out of three selected contestants, enter the House of Scandal as a Wild Card Entry this week.

It is said that the names of the contestants would be announced on the show, and one amongst the three will go in, depending on whom the public votes the most. The speculated names include Mahek Chahal, Shonali Nagrani and Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, though a source also informs that Shonali might opt out. Let’s see if this comes true.

Celebrity publicist and Bigg Boss specialist Dale Bhagwagar, who firebrand Pooja Misrra had consulted before entering the show and also before her second innings of 11 days as a guest, says that normally, a Wild Card Entry as a ‘CONTESTANT’ is expected to go in at least four weeks before the finale. So it might be considered unfair by the public at large if an ex-Housemate enters, just two weeks before the finale as a CONTESTANT, and not as a GUEST, after having been in the luxurious outside world and witnessed everything in black and white.

“It might be perceived as being unjust towards Pooja Misrra who was allowed entry only as a guest and not as a contestant, and punished harshly for merely a little thrust to Siddharth Bhardwaj, who made a mountain out of a push, branding it as assault and her as violent,” says Dale Bhagwagar, who has also been labeled Pooja Misrra’s ‘guerrilla publicist’ in the media.

With Bigg Boss Season 5 nearing its end, fans are at tenterhooks, wondering who will be the winner! As of now, Amar Upadhyay, Juhi Parmar, Akashdeep Sky Saigal, Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj and Sunny Leone are hot in the race.

Amar Upadhyay has been the most dignified contestant of the show this year, having spent his time on Bigg Boss with a lot of integrity. The “Saas Bahu ka Badshah” as ex-Housemate Pooja Misrra tauntingly tagged him on the show, is a self-made man, whose boy-next-door image has been loved my many.

Amar, who started his television career with Jaya Bachchan’s hugely popular sitcom Dekh Bhai Dekh, carved a niche for himself along with veteran television actors like Farida Jalal, Shekhar Suman and Divya Seth.

From here, he never looked back and has done many television serials and soaps. Amar’s career witnessed a major upswing with Ekta Kapoor’s Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi; a women-oriented daily soap, which catapulted him to great heights. He left an indelible mark and created history on Indian television when, after his character of Mihir Virani was edged out of the soap, but had to be brought back to life by public demand.

Bigg Boss is Amar’s first attempt at a reality show and one wonders if he can win it. Giving him tough competition, is Juhi Parmar, who shot to fame with the serial Kumkum. Plus, there is Akashdeep Sky Saigal, who played Mihir Virani’s son in Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and has been in the news for all the wrong reasons on Bigg Boss.

Another contestant Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj, is a winner of MTV Splitsvilla and the youngest of the lot on the show. The 24-year-old actor-model-VJ is a pro at reality television, also having participated in shows like MTV Stripped, Gone In 60 Seconds and Roadies 8.0 too.

The last of the lot is Sunny Leone (born Karen Malhotra), an Indo-Canadian pornographic actress, businesswoman and model. She was named Penthouse Pet of the Year in 2003 and created a furore with Indian conservative audiences, when she entered the Bigg Boss House as a Wild Card Entry a few weeks ago.

As we wait with bated breath to see who the winner would be, families and friends of various contestants, as well as some evicted participants, have been reported to use various antics and tactics outside the House to promote their kin and friends.

While evicted Housemate Mahek Chahal, through her interviews and tweets, has constantly been asking her fans to vote for Siddharth as the winner, their have been media reports of Akashdeep’s sister having the right connections and pulling strings to see her brother as the winner. Meanwhile, another evicted contestant Pooja Bedi has been constantly tweeting in favour of Akashdeep and also predicting that Juhi Parmar would win this season of Bigg Boss.

Astro-numerologist Bhavikk Sangghvi, who had joined Pooja Bedi for a prediction on the show, when she hosted Season 2, and had correctly predicted Ashutosh Kaushik as the winner of that season, has now announced that according to numerology, Juhi Parmar will win Bigg Boss 5.

This leaves Amar Upadhyay and Sunny Leone as the only two contestants playing a clean and fair game, without manipulating public opinion outside the House of Scandal.

According to latest reports, Bigg Boss guests Pooja Misrra and Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds have left the House of Scandal.

Confirming this, celebrity publicist and Bigg Boss specialist Dale Bhagwagar, who Pooja Misrra has extensively consulted before entering Bigg Boss as well as before her second coming on the show, says, “I am aware that their term on the show has come to an end. It is sad that Pooja could not be a contestant on the show in her second coming and had to concede being a guest.”

While Pooja will reach home by evening, Andrew is said to be at an undisclosed location inSouth Mumbai, from where he is expected to catch a flight back home.

“Pooja Misrra was the biggest entertainer and the soul of the season when she first entered Bigg Boss. After her sudden eviction, the public wanted her back as a contestant, competing for the finals. But that couldn’t happen, and Pooja had to merely return as Andrew’s translator and make frantic attempts to rectify her spoilt reputation. Whereas if she was a contestant, she could have fought back tooth and nail to reach the finals,” lamented Dale, who has also been labeled Pooja Misrra’s ‘guerrilla publicist’ by the media.

Earlier, Bhagwagar has handled the media for maximum number of controversial celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (Big Brother), Ashmit Patel, Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Sherlyn Chopra, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss) and is officially handling Amar Upadhyay during Season 5.

For the record, Pooja Misrra was ousted from the House for an alleged assault on co-contestant Siddharth Bhardwaj. She was apparently removed for physically pushing Siddharth on the show, after the latter blew a situation out of proportion and demanded her exit.

Initially targeted by Pooja Bedi, Misrra was made the butt of many jokes, after which she shot back and fought her way with each and every contestant of the show. Millions of viewers identified with her arguments, realizing her plight and urge for space, resulting in Pooja surviving the maximum number of evictions on the show with a mega margin of public votes.

So huge was her popularity that most Housemates found her unstoppable and indomitable. About the evictions, they often said, “Joh bhi usske saamne aata hai, udd jaata hai!” (“Whoever gets nominated opposite Pooja, gets evicted!”).

“With her exciting moves and antics for the audiences, Brand Pooja Misrra fast emerged the biggest puller of eyeballs this season, attracting huge TRPs for the show. Pooja’s most famous comment on the show “Spare me” has now become popular lingo all over the country,” states Dale Bhagwagar.