Spoilers Ahead by Rajeev Masand: The adjustment bureau – Hindustan Times

The video rapidly went viral on social media, and Bollywood information web sites wasted no time in amplifying the story. “Salman snubs Vicky” grew to become the most well-liked headline on leisure networks for the following 24 hours or so, till the following night, on the similar venue, when the 2 males bumped into one another once more on the purple carpet. This time they embraced warmly. No indicators of any animosity, no awkwardness from the occasions of the day gone by, no drama in any way. However come on, they act for a dwelling.

The purpose of raking up this incident is to not bask in petty gossip, however to acknowledge the position of the flacks, the masterminds, the handlers, and the fixers on whom it’s incumbent to alter the narrative. I can guess my final rupee that the second the unique video unfold like wildfire, offended, determined calls have been made to publicists and managers and consultants to do quick harm management. Somebody had the shrewd thought to recommend that the story would solely fizzle out if by some means the issue was now not an issue.

That somebody additionally had the best connections to assist execute the plan. It takes a village to scrub up the mess made by film stars. Extremely expert professionals work, principally invisibly, behind the scenes, to repair conditions, to salvage relationships, to pander to egos, and to make issues go away. When a star misses a flight as a result of he’s too smashed to reach on the airport on time, it’s the job of a supervisor to guide him on a unique flight, to seek out somebody to bear the price of the brand new ticket, and to verify it’s all achieved discreetly.

When an actor will get trolled for saying one thing silly, it’s normally as much as his publicist to treatment the state of affairs. I don’t wish to sound cynical, however once you see a video of an actor handing out meals packets to youngsters at a site visitors sign, know that some PR individual got here up with that concept so people would possibly forgive him his latest transgression.

In these occasions of intense scrutiny and prompt judgment, there may be little room for irreverence and spontaneity. Final 12 months whereas selling their film collectively, when Ranbir Kapoor made a joke about his spouse Alia Bhatt having placed on weight (she was pregnant on the time), the media and social media roasted the Brahmāstra: Half One – Shiva star. That needed to be a publicist’s nightmare. He apologised publicly.

I’ve been in conferences the place an actor’s crew will hand over a dos-and-don’ts listing to their consumer, forbidding them to say something in response to delicate questions that they anticipate could also be requested at a public occasion. For the fragile questions, there are pre-scripted responses prepared.

The best casualty of those hyper-managed occasions has obtained to be the muting of Shah Rukh Khan, arguably probably the most charming, most eloquent film star of all of them. As soon as the person who owned the room along with his cheeky one-liners and witty comebacks, SRK seems to have been suggested that staying silent could also be golden. The loss is solely ours.

From HT Brunch, June 3, 2023

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