DNA After Hrs and Zee Café converse with the public relations fraternity about the pros and cons of their upward-oriented growth and star PR.
DNA: What are the craziest demands that you have ever had to meet up with?
Dabboo Ratnani:While shooting a campaign the image of the star becomes very important — whether it is creating the right angle or photo-shopping. We try and respect the wish of the actor as to how they want to be portrayed. Hrithik will do anything for a picture shoot. Shah Rukh doesn’t care. We have all types of people in the industry. They have to trust their image maker.
DNA: Can you make somebody out of a nobody?
Rahat Beri: Not really, they have to have something in them.
Vandana Sandhir: You have to analyse your client’s strengths.
Aashish HIramanek: After all, you have to put your own reputation on the line. For example, I can’t be responsible for each and every designer who is our client. On an average, we refuse almost two prospective clients a week.
DNA: What do you think has led to the sudden need for PR for practically every corporate, media or business activity?
Aashish Hiramanek: Today, PR has become a highly misused word. You go to a party, and talk to people, and that is supposed to be PR...it is an over-used word.
Parul Gossain: My first client was Mallika Sherawat. For a whole year, I was butt of jokes in the media. She was the first person to say, ‘Speak to my publicist, before speaking to me’. People initially cracked jokes, but within two years everybody had a publicist.
DNA: Do actors purposefully build up a mystique around themselves?
Parul Gossain: The stars do need to maintain a certain mystique about themselves. They can give or withhold as much information as they want. Isn’t that fair?
Rahat Beri: Also, I think the media allows them to have that control.
Parul Gossain: It is too exhausting for the stars to be available to the media all the time.
DNA: Is any publicity, good publicity?
Vandana Sandhir: I don’t think any publicity is good publicity.
Parul Gossain: There was Aman Verma who went to someone’s room and was seen with someone. That was the end of his career.
Rahat Beri: He had an image that went bad.
DNA: We often hear of ‘convenient’ linkups between stars during the shooting of a movie. How genuine are they?
Rohini Iyer: Most of these stories are generated before the movie releases. PR is usually not consulted most of the times.
Parul Gossain: I am doing the PR for the film Kaminey, and I didn't know anything of Shahid and Priyanka being together until I read about it.
Rahat Beri: The media does not want to explore issues anymore. Roland Landers: Especially in sports and business reporting, from the journalist's perspective, I don't think they are doing a good job there.
DNA: How has recession affected the PR industry?
Rohini Iyer: I don’t think the recession has had any effect in our industry.
Aashish Hiramanek: In December, after the terrorist attack, business dipped. Huge events got cancelled.
Dabboo Ratnani: The luxury industry has definitely been affected.
Aashish Hiramanek: Clients are suggesting downsizing events.
