'There's no such thing as bad publicity' –a statement often
associated with Phineas T. Barnum, a 19th century American showman and circus
owner. Apparently, Barnum was a self-publicist and never missed an opportunity
to present his opinion to the public- no matter in what context. Apart from
being a man of showbiz in the 1800’s, his approach was bang on the money; self-
promotions and publicity are a crucial part of being a public figure. Unless
people talk about you, know you and have the craving to know more in person;
you are possibly just another person. In his own words- Without promotion
something terrible happens... Nothing!!!
Today, most people who wish to be in the public domain hire
public image managers in a quest to ensure their public face is maintained.
Considering there are lot more options in media which can spread a word at the
speed of sound, there are moments where someone can goof up big time. In the
last one year, there have been two instances after which the involved
individuals might have got them to think, ‘why the hell did I go there in the
first place?’ Interestingly, both invoked a similar kind of reaction on social
media. The real distinction has been how the matters have been handled post the
debacle and what it has done to these two individuals.
The first one was of course- Rahul Gandhi and possibly his
career interview with Arnab Goswami. Sure a lot of politicians make blunders
when they talk; but this was epic in the sense that his handling of the media
post the interview was atrocious and laughable. Needless to say, while the Modi
wave was on the rise, a lot of jokes on Rahul Gandhi started floating around. A
parallel example was that of Alia Bhatt when on the celebrity talk show ‘Koffee
with Karan’, her lack of knowledge about India’s President (like many others)
was exposed in a grand manner. What followed was her crowning as the Indian
version of the blonde with a strong line-up of jokes.
The similarities in both cases: both were actually trying to
establish themselves in the public eye and their image in the meantime was gone
for a toss. While Rahul had all kinds of childish jokes dedicated to himself,
Alia jokes were going across the board. Jokes which at one point were like an
exclusive monopoly of the surds were being recycled for Alia. In fact I believe
at some point, her PR agency came in a planted some more jokes just to keep the
excitement and name flashing on social media.
Indians have been harsh with anyone who had an issue with
their public image. In the past, the moment anyone got involved in
controversies, people and brands choose to distance themselves from the person
involved to manage the rub-off. This makes the post debacle response of the
involved both interesting and crucial. This was possibly the stark difference
in these two cases.
Rahul and the Congress went into denial. They did almost
nothing to change the public perception with any other public appearances aimed
to control the damage. If empowerment, women’s representation and youth were
his points laid down to the world, nothing was done to being meaning to the
words by some on ground actions to the people who most mattered in his campaign.
While they attempted to downplay the matter or wait for it to die out- Rahul
lost his presence in the national politics. He can be an equivalent to Sarah
Palin in some ways.
Conversely, the Bhatt camp did nothing to hide the fact that
general knowledge was not the strong point of Alia. Interestingly; in the month
following the incident, she played a student in India’s most respected
educational institutions, a Stockholm syndrome driven lover and a very typical
North Indian. While social media was taking her persona for a toss- she
actually allied with a popular youth based internet channel to let people know
that she is working on herself to overcome her flaws. As a matter of fact, I
recently found that her youth connect is so powerful that she is the face for a
range of products from Garnier, Hero Pleasure and Philips in recent times. In
all the above ads, she projects a smarter and opinion leading act.
If you ask me, I am yet to watch any of her films and the
idea of her being a far refreshing act in terms of glamour compared to her half
sibling Pooja Bhatt came in only after I saw what a disaster Pooja was (30 mins
of Phir teri kahani yaad aayee was all it required). I also know that she is
someone who possibly never been to a college to take up studies seriously and
might be the low ranker amidst her contemporaries as far as educational
qualifications might go. But one thing is for sure- every single person who has
ever read a newspaper or is exposed to some form of social media today knows
who she is. Would she get all the films and endorsements she has in her bag
even then? May be. But one thing is for sure- the kind of recall she has today
is second to none.
A line of conclusion- like her or hate her for all she does,
she is someone who we cannot stop hearing about. She is plastered all across
youth channels with her ads and endorsements and for all I have read; her
acting has also been appreciated. She is many ways is now an established brand;
something we just cannot ignore.
