Bollywoods’ Man Fridays

But in New Bollywood,where corporatisation and foreign investments have changed the way films are made,the good old personal secretary has been pushed to the corner,making way for a new breed of “celebrity managers”. Unlike personal secretaries who were only interfaces between the actors and producers or directors,celebrity managers,as their designation suggests,take care of the “celebrity” profile of an actor,helping him sign deals with companies for endorsements,and with event management firms for performance tours. These managers work with “celebrity management firms” such as Carving Dreams,Kwan,Bling and Matrix that,besides getting the actors endorsements,also help them bag roles in movies.

“The emergence of celebrity management agencies is directly proportional to the increase in endorsement deals,” says Anirban Das Blah,who set up Kwan over two years ago. “A personal secretary cannot sit and strike a deal with the vice-president of Pepsico. When we go to a brand,we back our pitch with loads of quantitative data and case studies,which a secretary never did. An advertiser would take a Deepika over Katrina,for example,only if there is proof that Deepika will increase a brand’s value,” he says,highlighting the cut-throat number-crunching ways of new-age celebrity management,something missing from the profile of personal sectaries,where things moved on the basis of relationships.

Afsar Zaidi,CEO and founder of Carving Dreams,believes that celebrity managers are “redefining the work of star secretaries”. “There has to be a confluence of old school and new school. Actors need secretaries to manage all their affairs,including their interactions with us. Today,we work with Ashok Vasodia and Chand Mishra,personal secretaries of our clients Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra respectively. While we bring the actors opportunities from different spheres,their secretaries keep their schedules and diaries even today,” says Zaidi,whose clients also include Saif Ali Khan,Emraan Hashmi,Shilpa Shetty,Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu. He does,however,agree that the role of the personal secretary is limited today. “Back in the pre-corporate days,the secretaries spoke the language of the producers. Everything was very casual then — individual producers signed actors,gave them signing amounts,and that’s about it. Now,deals are cut more professionally,and the parties involved often include an international producer. We speak a different language because our society is more evolved. UTV is a Walt Disney Company today. So you need more expertise when you represent your client there,” says Zaidi.

Vasodia,whom Zaidi works with,says that the clout of secretaries has declined,but not vanished,as actors “need a secretary to be around them at all times”. “The celebrity managers take care of Hrithik’s endorsements and other event schedules while keeping him in the loop about the current market scenario. I manage his film schedules. But the managers keep me in the loop about his deals.”

Like Vasodia,Rikku Rakesh Nath,who has been Madhuri Dixit’s secretary for over two decades now,has survived the onslaught of celebrity managers by “reinventing” himself. Nath started out by handling only films for Madhuri but today he also does events and endorsements for her. “I have learnt the ropes of a professional manager because that is the need of the hour,” he says. Nath now has a team of people working with him.

Celebrity managers,on the other hand, evolved from sports management firms. Both Blah and Zaidi earlier worked for sports management firm Globosport,run by Mahesh Bhupati. While Blah was CEO and co-founder,Zaidi was instrumental in setting up the entertainment division at Globosport,which managed the business deals of actors. “We realised that just as sportspersons needed someone to manage their business affairs,so did actors,whose area of work went beyond films to include endorsements,stage and public appearances,and TV shows,” says Zaidi.

The idea of celeb management incidentally came from a celebrity. “It was Saif Ali Khan who first felt the need to have a celebrity manager. He felt that while he was busy doing his primary job of acting,he needed someone to look for other opportunities for him,” says Zaidi,who managed Saif’s account for Globosport,and later for Carving Dreams,which he set up in 2005. “He bagged Omkara through our company. We got him the script and convinced him to do the role,” says Zaidi.

Celebrity managers are expanding their portfolio beyond actors. Kwan,for example,besides managing Ranbir Kapoor,Deepika Padukone,Genelia D’Souza,Nargis Fakhri and Amy Jackson,also has directors such as Abhishek Kapoor,Anurag Kashyap and Abbas Tyrewala as clients. They help the directors choose which panel discussions to attend at film festivals,and select television reality shows for promoting their films.

Apart from actors expanding their portfolios,the influx of foreign faces has also meant more business for celebrity managers. The trend has turned photographer Atul Kasbekar into a celebrity manager. He started Bling! Entertainment Solutions,a celeb management firm,in 2007. “When you are new in the business,you want someone to represent you. You will not find a ready-made secretary to take responsibility of getting you work. But one can always approach an agency,” says Kasbekar. Today,Kasbekar’s team handles actors Shahid Kapoor,Farhan Akhtar,Vidya Balan,Lisa Haydon and Angela Johnson.

Celeb management firms earn as much as 15-30 per cent of the business they generate as fee. The Rs 1,000-crore celebrity endorsement business,which is growing at 20-30 per cent every year,is attracting a lot of professional managers. “But it isn’t the easiest of jobs,” says Kasbekar,who feels one has to have a keen eye for detail. “When we signed on Vir Das,he was just a stand-up comedian. We needed to build on his funny image and get him roles that would suit his personality and profession,” he says. Bling eventually got Das an offer from Aamir Khan Productions for Delhi Belly.

Celebrity managers have built enough clout for themselves now to advise filmmakers which actor they should sign up. “If today,a director approaches me with the script,I will look at it,study my clients and say who fits in best. If I think Deepika fits in better than a Katrina,I will argue my cause,” says Blah. Even as celebrity managers are spoilt for choice,where does that leave the personal secretary? It seems there is no bitterness. Vasodia,who has been with Hrithik Roshan from the beginning of his career,says what’s important is “the comfort of the actors”. “Celebrity managers are doing their job,I am doing mine. In the end,our focus should be to get the best for our client,” he says.

Kumar Mangat,who started out as Ajay Devgn’s secretary,and later turned producer with hit films like Omkara,Aakrosh and Pyaar Ka Punchnama to his credit,continues to handle Ajay’s work as a “one-man army”. Kumar looks after all his films and endorsements. “Having a celebrity manager is a good idea because it seems organised,but when a company has too many clients,it cannot give full attention to any one actor. I am old-school,and feel an actor should have only one secretary or manager.”