Kajol article sparks Bollywood PR hoopla

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Megastar Shah Rukh Khan and the ever-sizzling Kajol.

“Actress Kajol kick-started her career in the showbiz in the 90s when the PR machinery was not in force. In the 90s, it was all about how actors conducted themselves in front of the media without the help of any PRs,” says an article on Bollywood Bubble.

However, Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar has reacted in disagreement. “It’s incorrect to say that strong PR didn’t exist in the 90s. I’ve myself handled more than a dozen clients at any given time during the 90s too,” he tweeted.

“Though Kajol is a diva, Bollywood Bubble seems to be bumbling with ignorance about entertainment PR,” laughs Dale, who has handled the media for Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Priyanka Chopra and films like Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Don and Farhan Akhtar-starrer Rock On!!, apart from being a crisis management specialist to umpteen Bigg Boss contestants over the years.

“During the 90’s, there have been great PRs such as Gopal Pandey, RR Pathak, Raju Kariya, Ajit Ghosh, Hilla Sethna, Keshav Rai, Harish Sharma, Susheel Sharma, Peter Martis, Parag Desai, Indermohan Pannu, Shahid Khan, Arun-Gaja and Rajendra Rao.”

Filmstar Kajol — a diva she is. (Image courtesy: Internet)

“They have planned elaborate publicity campaigns, advised and guided actors with image-building, have been an integral part of PR strategies, and wielded much more influence on media than most of the current publicists. I know, because I have been there,” says the publicist who started out in PR in the 90s and went on to become a trendsetter.

Dale is one of the few actively surviving Bollywood publicists of that time and still leads the PR brigade in innovation. A simple search with his name brings up thousands of web results. The PR expert points out that public relations existed in tinsel town much before the 90s. “Bollywood PR has been thriving since the days of Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt and Dilip Kumar,” remarks Dale, who also handled personal PR for Dev Anand as well as his last film Chargesheet.

A file picture of Bollywood’s only PR guru Dale Bhagwagar with actor Dev Anand, PR Bunny Reuben, and with other prominent Bollywood publicists from the 90s and later. (Image courtesy: Twitter)

“We have had PR greats such as VP Sathe whose publicity agency had a monopoly over media campaigns in the 50s and 60s. And then Bunny Reuben, who handled the PR for Raj Kapoor and films of Yash Chopra, BR Chopra, Basu Bhattacharya and GP Sippy. It’s been boom-time for PRs all the way since then.” Point taken.

Bollywood PR Dale Bhagwagar explains why ‘feminism’ is bad for women

Bollywood PR Dale Bhagwagar explains why 'feminism' is bad for women.

Web link to the article on Urban Asian

 

Urban Asian writes about Bollywood PR Dale Bhagwagar and his spin secrets to budding journalists

Urban Asian writes about Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar and his spin secrets to budding journalists

Web link of article on Urban Asian

 

SantaBanta.com: Dale Bhagwagar tops the list of best PRs in Bollywood

 

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Article link to Santa Banta

 

Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar on Bigg Boss contestant Hina Khan

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Article link to Mango Bunch

 

Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar talks about a twist on Bigg Boss

Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar talks about a twist on Bigg Boss hosted by Salman Khan

Web link to the article on Nagpur Today

 

Amar Upadhyay breaks down on Bigg Boss!

The otherwise ‘smart player’ of the Bigg Boss House, Amar Upadhyay, broke down last evening on the show.

 

Since day one, Amar has been strong in the House, but when Akashdeep Sky Saigal asked him about his mother, his eyes went moist.

 

During the conversation, Amar told the inmates how he was once shooting for a film in Manali, when his mother called and he couldn’t speak to her.

 

Later, when he returned her call, the director called him for another shot, and he couldn’t speak to her again. After a while, in the midnight, a family member called him and conveyed a bad news. Amar rushed out from Manali, but it was too late. By the time he reached home, his mother had passed away.

 

We thought nothing could make Amar sad or cry on Bigg Boss. But as the actor went back in time, he was full of tears.

 

The Secret Room is being missed in Bigg Boss 5!

Throughout the entire season of Bigg Boss 5, if one has missed anything it’s the trademark ‘Secret Room’, where a participant is kept in alienation, with a special privilege to watch others in action inside the House.

 

Though Season 5 is nearing its finale, celebrity publicist and Bigg Boss specialist Dale Bhagwagar, says its not too late to introduce the ‘Secret Room’ even it is for two-three days. “This could escalate the drama manifold and give the privileged contestant in the room an insight about who is his/her real friend and who is not,” ideates Dale.

 

The Bollywood publicist, who has earlier 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), has also spoken to contestants Juhi Parmar, Shakti Kapoor and Mahek Chahal before the show rolled this year, and is officially handling Amar Upadhyay during Season 5, and Pooja Misrra for a specific period after she completed her second innings on the reality show.

 

Asked who could be the best bet for getting into the Secret Room at this final stage, Dale says, “It could be anyone from Akashdeep Sky Saigal to Juhi Parmar to Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj. Its obvious, that the other Housemates will gossip about any contestant who goes, least realizing that he/she can come back and beat the daylights out of them just before the finale.”

 

About the Secret Room:

The Secret Room is a special room near the Bigg Boss House. There are times when Bigg Boss directs a Housemate to this room, while other Housemates are given the impression that the person has been evicted or has left the House for good. The Housemate kept in isolation, is given access to past episodes of the show as well as the privilege to secretly watch what is going on in the House. Equipped with all this knowledge, when the Housemate re-enters the main House, all hell breaks lose.

 

Is Sunny Leone scaring off Bollywood actors and producers already?

After being evicted from Bigg Boss, pornstar Sunny Leone targeted contestant Amar Upadhyay, alleging that he kissed her hand and picked her up against her wishes, while carrying out fun tasks assigned to Housemates on the reality show.

In an interview to a prominent newspaper, the pornstar fromCanadamounted a scathing attack on the Indian actor and claimed, “It’s the first time in my entire career that I’ve had to tell a man (Amar) more than once not to be a certain way. That’s why I didn’t exactly know how to handle the situation as it was coming, other than talking to him as an adult. In my real life, no one comes near me or no one even tries to get fresh or do anything – it just doesn’t happen.”

Amar Upadhyay’s publicist Dale Bhagwagar clarified that the actor’s ‘acts’ of kissing Leone on her hand or picking her up during a rain dance on the show, “were strictly part of the ‘entertainment tasks’ given to the Housemates on Bigg Boss.”

Replying to Sunny’s bizarre claims, he said, “Sunny Leone a respected pornstar! She should be careful before uttering such words against a family man and an actor who has been admired and adored on Indian television for his role of the righteous Mihir Virani in Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which even propelled him as a superstar on television with a huge fan following.”

“Sunny is planning to enter Bollywood. Showing such disrespect for a family man and massacring the reputation of an Indian actor even before she officially signs her first Bollywood movie, could reflect badly on her and scare off most reputed Indian actors and producers,” the publicist pointed out.

Indeed, Sunny seems to have committed professional hara-kiri.Indiais a country of great morality and culture and this frivolous accusation could make her career in Bollywood an uphill task now.

It can be noted here that Bigg Boss co-host Sanjay Dutt, who had rightfully come to Amar’s support during one of the elimination rounds earlier, was said to be planning to work with Sunny. But the rumours have been denied. Quoting a source, a prominent newspaper clarified, “Sanju wouldn’t be comfortable working with Leone and has no interest in signing her on whatsoever.”

The other Bigg Boss co-host Salman Khan, who was said to be considering Sunny for a film, hasn’t announced anything; while Mahesh Bhatt is yet to officially sign her for Jism 2, a movie he discussed with her on entering the Bigg Boss House as a guest last month.

Porn star Sunny Leone’s website ‘Indianised’ after stint on Bigg Boss

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.

 

Colors faces ‘pornographic’ heat for Sunny Leone on Bigg Boss!

India’s biggest reality show Bigg Boss is in controversy once again! The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), an independent body set up by the Indian Broadcasters Foundation (IBF) to promote self-regulation by Indian television media, has stated that the Indo-Canadian pornstar Sunny Leone has promoted her pornography business through Bigg Boss.

With just two weeks remaining for the grand finale of the show; taking up 19 complaints pertaining to Sunny Leone, BCCC is reported to have put Colors, one of IBF members, on notice for allowing cross-promotion of sexually explicit content by Sunny Leone, who, in turn, is making money out of her presence on Bigg Boss.

It has been reported in The Tribune that in a meeting yesterday, BCCC directed Colors to stop all cross-promotion of Leone’s pornographic sites and videos by December 26.

Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities and a member of BCCC, said, “We all agreed that Sunny Leone has been using Bigg Boss on Colors to promote pornography which is classified as criminal activity in India. It may not be criminal in the United States where she comes from, but here, it happens to be so. Therefore, she can’t be allowed to use our television to promote her business. Colors has agreed to comply and report back on steps taken.”

Sunny’s interactions with Bigg Boss hosts Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt and Housemates including Juhi Parmar, Siddharth Sid Bhardwaj, Akashdeep Sky Saigal, Amar Upadhyay and guest Andrew Symonds have been widely speculated and discussed on the show.

“Sunny has been constantly playing mischief with Amar Upadhyay on Bigg Boss, falsely alleging that the family man has been ‘touchy-feely’ with her,” remarked Dale Bhagwagar, publicist for the television star, most famous for his role as the righteous Mihir Virani in the epic daily soap Kyonki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.

A public relations specialist with Bigg Boss; Dale has earlier handled the media for the maximum number of celebrities on reality shows including Shilpa Shetty (during Big Brother), Rakhi Sawant, Kashmera Shah, Ashmit Patel, Sherlyn Chopra, Diana Hayden (Bigg Boss). He pointed out that “Brand Sunny Leone has enhanced itself multiple times since her appearance on Bigg Boss.”

Dale added that “her stint inside the Bigg Boss house has helped Sunny top Google charts with millions looking her up on the internet from India and abroad.”

“According to data collected from Google Trends, Sunny Leone’s search results are reported to be five times more than current teen sensation Katrina Kaif, twice as many as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and nine times more than the vivacious Kareena Kapoor. That says a lot for Sunny’s rising brand and popularity,” said the Bollywood PR.

Meanwhile, BCCC is reported to have said that anyone is free to appear on any show, but no one has the right to promote their business through it, especially so when the business happens to be illegal.

It was noted that Sunny Leone’s video postings, procured from Bigg Boss 5, are being cross-promoted on a blog authored by the pornstar. The report further states that Sunny’s Twitter account, having 86,000 followers, mentions that mobile applications of her hard porn products are available via email.

More about Sunny Leone on Bigg Boss:

 

Born Karen Malhotra, Sunny, who entered Bigg Boss as a Wild Card Entry on November 21, became an instant sensation, creating ripples across the country, and garnering attention and protests from people shocked with a pornstar’s presence on Indian national television.

 

A few days later, acclaimed Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt went into the Bigg Boss House and offered her a lead role in his next film Jism 2, creating great hype all over again. Her seducing pole dance on the show too, attracted great eyeballs and was expected to have boosted the TRP’s.

 

Not revealing her true identity to the Housemates for long, Sunny, whose Hindi accent is also famous on the show, finally relented when firebrand Pooja Misrra (who had re-entered the House as a guest entry after being in the outside world and knowing about her pornstar status) coaxed her to come out with the truth.

Rakhi Sawant compares Veena Malik to Saddam, Osama and Gaddafi!

“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.”