IT is a story that has become part of the spin doctor lore in India. Vinod Khanna, ageing-Bollywood-hunk-turned-bjp-poster-boy, was seeking re-election from the Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab two years ago. The anti-incumbency wave was sweeping the state, and Khanna's political future looked anything but bright. So when Delhi-based 'celebrity manager' Nalin Sinha was roped in following a frantic phone call to manage the star-politician's poll campaign, his brief was clear: resurrect Khanna as a serious parliamentarian, tone down his stardust image and create as many 'opportunities'—classic spinspeak—as could be possible.
Sinha's backroom boys turned think tanks and immersed themselves in nitty-gritty demographic research of Khanna's constituency, identifying key issues and briefing the politician on them. Coordination with the media and hardselling his son-of-the-soil image through cable TV network and brochures came next. The hard work eventually paid off: Khanna managed to scrape through—the only bjp candidate to do so from Punjab—by some 1,500 votes.
Ponchie Kanwar and Laila Khan Rajpal are as far removed from politics as can be, yet their quest for self-promotion is similar, never mind the quality of their vocation. If Laila, Bollywood director Feroze Khan's daughter, wants to market herself more as a glamorous painter breaking free from her celeb daughter mould, Ponchie has been eager for a good press for her book launch. Ergo, both approached spinners and came out smiling. Both wanted publicity, and judging by the coverage on the metro pages, got enough of it.
In the feelgood world of urban razzmatazz, everybody wants quickfix fame—most often having little or nothing to do with actual accomplishments or backbreaking hard work. It's enough as long as you stay in the celeb limelight till kingdom come. As columnist Anil Dharker once pointed out: "If you're flashy or good looking and available to the media, you're famous. Not necessarily meritorious."
But with survival in this 'personality' jungle a Darwinian proposition, image consultants have become the gods all prayers are addressed to. And it's no longer filmdom or corporate boardrooms which feed the business of public relations; you can be anybody—a golf guru, a bored-wife-turned fashion designer, a vapid TV channel VJ or even a surrealist painter—be rest assured a spin doctor will be willing to brandish his magic wand to morph you into a star entity. Says Dilip Cherian, consulting partner of Delhi-based PR firm, Perfect Relations: "Time or the lack of it is a major factor, then comes the I-am-not-seen, so-am-not-relevant anxiety." Naturally then, a spruced-up image helps one rise above the celeb clutter.
It also helps busy professionals concentrate on their work while someone else manages their publicity. Says Delhi-based star chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who's being managed by a PR firm for the past six years: "Had I tried to promote myself on my own, I'd have been clueless. Now I let the pros handle my account and concentrate on my recipes." He's also candid enough to admit: "Initially I had no expectations, but the value-addition has been remarkable."
For freshers like Indipop diva Pallavi Laxman, such advice has become crucial to enhance her presence and visibility. "When my album was released, I decided to do something on my own. There is so much competition and the record companies do not always go all out to promote you," she says. For her, the first few months of non-recognition were frustrating enough to approach family friend Cherian for an image overhaul.She did get a sudden rush of attention, but whether it's translating into higher album sales, we don't know yet.
"Individuals," says Vinod G. Nair, managing director of the Mumbai-based Clea Public Relations, "are no different from organisations; they too need management. The higher you scale the ladders of success, the more significant it becomes for perceptions about yourself to be managed and remoulded." Once the image is strong, one is able to sustain success and improve on it. "In the old days, money begat money. Nowadays the right image begets money," he says.
A perfectly valid point, but with everybody, irrespective of credentials, gunning for instant stardom, doesn't quality get sacrificed at the altar of business interests? Although PR firms "shamelessly" deny planting stories about their clients in the media, one PR professional does admit: "Now irrespective of the personality, most PR firms aggressively promote their clients. The 'Page 3' syndrome is actually counter-productive. In the end, not just an agency but the entire profession will loose clients." The bigger players—with their brand equity at stake—tend to play it safe but the desperation rises as one climbs down the value chain: spinning a mediocre or rank bad talent can backfire badly both on the firm and the professional.
The first thing agencies claim to do after signing on a wannabe star professional is to provide a completely professional outlook, free of inflated egos or emotions. "We make a roadmap based on two simple questions: who I am today and where I want to be tomorrow. The rest falls into its place on its own," says Cherian. What follows is a personality swot analysis and a look at the competition. Adds Nair: "After a thorough study of their market potential, we ascertain the gaps which coexist vis-a-vis their image and subsequently work on them to improve the saleability." Grooming—public appearances, media handling, dress codes—follows.
Bigger image consultants like CleaRity—Clea's celebrity management wing—or Perfect Relation's Buzz usually have a two-year perspective. For financial management of well-known celebs, 12 to 18 months is the minimum time period. The grooming, training, image build-up exercises usually go up to almost three years but can be easily customised. 'Projects' or one-off events are also popular and are done for shorter time durations. The whole thing comes at a price, and a steep one: rates vary between 25 and 50 per cent of their clients' earnings. Some even charge in absolute figures: Rs 6-8 lakh per annum and Rs 1 lakh for smaller projects.
With briefs becoming increasingly challenging and particular, agencies use multiple approaches to ensure maximum promotion. Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, for example, approached Perfect Relations for an Internet-driven exercise for his Carnegie Hall concert. The net alone was used as a PR tool to ensure a sellout concert and to reach out to a newer audience. CleaRity had to do organise exhaustive media coverage for the pop duo Colonial Cousins, first individually and then as a group. Their entire imaging, and clothes in particular, had to acquire a 'youth focus'—to highlight the fact that even middle-aged musicians can be swinging dudes.
For chef Kapoor, whose profession isn't exactly glamorous, it was his passion for Indian cooking that was marketed as the usp. He was positioned as a constant experimenter, one in sync with latest culinary trends.Then came cooking classes both on TV and otherwise, interactive sessions with women, recipe books and cooking shows. The spin continues: more books, a new range of masalas and a cooking school are now in the pipeline.
Likewise, the absence of the author and the people associated with the film Sholay became a major constraint when Anupama Chopra's book on the vintage blockbuster was launched early this year. Thus the agency had to organise a book-reading session with the children of the film's stars after the book bagged a national award. A coffee-table edition too was launched and the cast got together to celebrate the flick's 25th birthday. Spin may not win everytime, but can it get better than this?