A few weeks ago, Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar had posted a message on Twitter, complimenting Priyank Sharma for the way he was strategically carrying himself in Bigg Boss 11. Inspired by the post, a social media fan group of Priyank approached the PR expert to promote Priyank in the media.
To Dale's surprise, they offered him an amount unheard of in the PR industry in India. "The group said they will pool the monies through crowd-funding with the help of fan pages on Facebook and Twitter," informs the Mumbai-based PR expert. "I found that quite innovative," Dale admits.
However, Dale refused the offer. "I am a media manipulator, not a fan. And I didn't find it ethical to do PR maneuvers without being appointed by the person concerned or his family," remarks the publicist. Though he did mention that he may reconsider the idea, if his advocate gave him a go-ahead from the legal point of view.
When it comes to reality television, Dale is no ordinary PR man. He has handled the media hype, controversies and crisis management for Shilpa Shetty during Big Brother and for a full 20 contestants of Bigg Boss, including names such as Rahul Mahajan, Mandana Karimi, Aman Verma, Amar Upadhyay, Rakhi Sawant, Sambhavna Seth, Sherlyn Chopra, Pooja Misrra and Sonali Raut.
When asked, who is the most promising out of all the contestants, Dale does not mince words. "Hina Khan started the best and is somehow managing to hold forte for now. She is playing her cards well. But as far as outside support goes, Shilpa Shinde, Hiten Tejwani and Vikas Gupta are slowly surging ahead."
Let's see if equations change by the time Bigg Boss 11 Finale is announced and in the final weeks when we can get clear indications of a suitable BB11 winner.