[1]Stars and controversies walk hand-in-hand. And so do their publicists. They work 24x7. They are the real brains behind the hype generated around a star or a film. They disseminate information and work on makeovers when a celebrity’s image gets tainted in the public eye.
They have been around for a few years but what makes them so important is the fact that the aura of a star rests solely in the hands of these celebrity godplayers. Now more than ever.
“The job of a publicist is 24x7, and it means compromising on everything. Friends, family, food, everything has to wait,” says Parull Gossain, an independent celebrity publicist. “We live a life almost parallel to that of a star as our job requires one to know everything about the client,” he adds.
It’s not a war, but the requirements as a strategist are no less in the public relations industry.
“PR is an intriguing mind game in a media minefield,” says Dale Bhagwagar, head of the Bhagwagar Media group, adding, “How do you make sure your star stays in the news all the time requires a lot of thinking.”
Dale managed Shilpa Shetty’s account when the actress participated in the TV show Celebrity Big Brother. He and his group were the real brains behind the emergence of Shilpa as an icon for the world to look up to, against racial discrimination, on the show. They gave unexpected twists and turns to all the hoopla, generating public opinion in favour of the actor, which led to her winning the reality TV show.
Among all the tools that a publicist relies on, the most successful ones have always been link-ups, break-ups and ego clashes.
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