In an unprecedented move, the renowned ‘Media Skills – New York Academy’ in Mumbai has announced the ‘Dale Bhagwagar Media Arts Scholarship’ for two deserving students interested in pursuing a career in the media and entertainment industry. This scholarship will cover the entire course fees, with only the government mandated tax being charged.

The scholarship is named after Dale Bhagwagar, India’s most famous publicist and crisis management expert, who recently conducted a captivating Masterclass at the academy. He has over three decades of experience in the news media and heads India’s top entertainment PR agency, Dale Bhagwagar Media Group. He is known as the ‘Father of Bollywood PR’, for having started India’s first entertainment PR agency and bringing organisation and structure to PR in Bollywood.

The scholarship is a testament to Bhagwagar’s commitment to nurturing young talent and the academy’s dedication to providing quality education. The academy will either conduct a test for the two students recommended by Bhagwagar, or accept his direct nomination of two deserving candidates.

The ‘Media Skills – New York Academy’ offers courses that are certified based on blockchain credentials, ensuring their recognition in 193 countries. Moreover, all courses include an AI awareness program and business coaching, equipping students with the necessary skills to become successful entrepreneurs in the media industry.

During his Masterclass, Bhagwagar shared his wealth of knowledge with the students, discussing the intricacies of handling celebrity events and media interactions effectively. He also shared valuable insights about the media and entertainment industry, known only to insiders. The PR guru emphasized the importance of maintaining ethical standards in the news media, a principle he refers to as his “balancing act” in PR.

The students were mesmerised by Bhagwagar’s insights and expressed their eagerness for continued guidance. In a rare gesture, Bhagwagar extended his support by sharing his contact information with the students, encouraging them to reach out for advice and guidance as they embark on their professional journeys.

The ‘Media Skills – New York Academy’ also honoured Dale Bhagwagar with the ‘No.1 PR in India’ award. This prestigious accolade recognizes Bhagwagar’s extraordinary contribution to the news media industry over the past three decades and his standing as the most trusted publicist in the country. The award further cements Bhagwagar’s reputation as a leading figure in the Indian entertainment industry and underscores the academy’s commitment to acknowledging and celebrating excellence in the field of media and PR.

The ‘Media Skills – New York Academy’, founded in 2018, is a pioneer in media courses pertaining to VR, AR, and AI technologies in broadcasting, TV, films, music, entertainment and business management. The academy is committed to providing comprehensive, hands-on training in media skills to help students achieve their professional goals.

With the introduction of the ‘Dale Bhagwagar Media Arts Scholarship’, the academy has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering creativity, innovation and ethical practices in the media industry. This initiative is set to provide a platform to deserving students to propel their careers in the media and entertainment industry under the guidance of one of Indian film industry’s most respected, prolific and renowned publicists.

India has had a remarkable year at the Academy Awards, winning two Oscars in different categories. Naatu Naatu, a lively song from the period epic RRR directed by SS Rajamouli, was voted as the winner in the Music (Original Song) category. Unlike the 2008 winner Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire, Naatu Naatu is entirely homegrown, composed by MM Keeravani, with lyrics by Chandrabose and choreography by Prem Rakshith. The song’s success is attributed not only to the tune but also to the entire package, including the actors’ energetic dance performance.

In the Best Documentary (Short) category, Kartiki Gonsalves’s The Elephant Whisperers secured India’s second victory at the Oscars. This achievement is significant as Gonsalves is the first Indian director to win in this category, as well as the first Indian to win in any directing category. Additionally, producer Guneet Monga has now won two Oscars, with her previous win coming from co-producing the 2018 winner titled Period. End of Sentence.

“Pathaan road-rollered the Boycott Bollywood movement with its runway success at the start of the year, and now Naatu Naatu and The Elephant Whisperers have won Oscars. These projects have served as rocket fuel to the film industry,” remarks Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar.

True, they have not only revitalized and galvanized Bollywood, but have made the world acknowledge the soft power of India’s film industry. While 2022 was sort of gloomy, 2023 has got off to a roaring new start for the entertainment industry. “That’s also good for business in general, especially while the world is talking of an impending recession,” remarks the popular entertainment publicist.

Dale is no stranger to the business of cinema. He has handled the PR and media branding for around 300 celebrities, 30 movies, 20 Bigg Boss contestants, a Celebrity Big Brother winner and even a controversial Godman and Godwoman. Many of his clients call the Bollywood celebrity PR their ‘lucky charm’, but the media maverick retorts, “it’s just my work which they mistake for luck.”

Talking about the future of Bollywood, Dale Bhagwagar feels that the industry is finally accepting that change is constant and that there is no surety with anything. He says that Bollywood is fast learning to adapt and adjust to change and technology — whether it comes in the form of monetary fluctuations or automation. It’s stopped complaining about how there is revenue loss because of films releasing on OTT and is ready to embrace the new hybrid model between single-screen theatres, multiplexes, tele-films and OTT.

“The future is here and it looks very challenging and that is fantabulous,” concludes Dale. We can’t help but concur to that double-dose of positivity. The sun is up, and yet the stars are shining bright.

Recently, journalist and film reviewer Anupama Chopra revealed on Twitter that she got a message from a PR agency, asking if she does paid reviews.

Her tweet said:

“Got this text today from a PR firm. Am still processing. #wanttoweep

Hello

Hope your doing well.

I am X from X. Wanted to check if you are open to do paid movie reviews.

If yes, request you to please let me know how we can go about it.

Regards” (sic)

Got this text today from a PR firm. Am still processing. #wanttoweep

Hello
Hope your doing well.
I am X from X. Wanted to check if you are open to do paid movie reviews.
If yes, request you to please let me know how we can go about it.

Regards

— Anupama Chopra (@anupamachopra) June 21, 2022

There was a big hype over this on Twitter as well as a lot of news articles in the media over it. However, we feel that when film review manipulations are done by top Bollywood publicists, the PRs simply go ahead and get them done with clout or PR pressure. Most of the time (unless the PRs are rookies), they don’t go about inquiring from journalists if it can be done.

We are reminded of the first time such a PR manipulation happened in a film review, some fifteen years ago. Yes, it started back then! And the PR guy who manipulated a film review for the first time even publicly admitted to the spin move. His name is Dale Bhagwagar and he is currently famous as

Over the years, the entertainment publicist has handled the publicity for over 300 personalities, 30 movies and 20 Bigg Boss contestants. His Mumbai-based entertainment PR agency Dale Bhagwagar Media Group has been at the forefront of the Bollywood PR brigade for more than two decades.

It so happened that at an early stage of his PR career, Dale did not like a few lines written about an actress PR client by reviewer Subhash K Jha in a film review on a website.

He felt that the reviewer Jha had written them out of bias and prejudice towards him as the said reviewer did not vibe with him. So the publicist got in touch with the site and got the lines about the actress changed from negative to positive.

But he did not stop at that. He went ahead and informed the media about it. Woah! There was a lot of ruckus about his PR control tactic. A publicist had interfered in a film review for the first time then. There were reactions from some film industry folks.

Responding to a question about this, veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt had said, “There is a market force which controls every industry, and the newspaper industry is no different. Media is supposed to be the watchdog of the society but unfortunately, now it has become the lap dog of power. But there are exceptions. There are some journalists who still care about moral standards.”

There were more reactions. “I think the Government of India should intervene and a line should be drawn. The way there is censorship in films, we have to have some kind of censorship in media too. Journalists need to refrain from damaging reputations of actors. Then such PR manipulations won’t happen,” actor Shakti Kapoor had said.

Noted actor Anupam Kher had retorted, “Times are changing, and so are a whole of aspects in journalism. I am not even aware if PRs are actually making changes in articles and reviews. I’m surprised to hear about their influence from you. But if this is the case, it’s really not right.”

Fifteen years later nothing has changed since that first PR manipulation of a film review. With the advent of Paid News things have gotten worse. In fact, Bollywood publicist Dale Bhagwagar is now ruling the roost in the Bollywood PR industry, being one of the market leaders in his profession.

The celebrity publicist says that “journalistic ethics have fallen to the extent that some journalists eat out of the PRs palms.” Dale points out that “since the advent of Paid News, many journalists are in a sorry state and not as respected as before.”

“Please understand things from the correct perspective. It’s part of a PRs job to plan, plant and plug content. Propaganda and manufacturing consent is what publicists do. Public relations professionals are known to manipulate and spin. That’s their job. That’s not the problem here,” points out the Bollywood PR expert.

“The problem is that because of Paid News the ethics in journalism have gone for a toss. It’s the news media who have made PRs more influential by introducing Paid News in India. So calling out PRs for trying their luck to manipulate film reviews is interesting, but not fair on publicists,” Dale explains.

What can we say here! This guy is known to talk the talk. As usual, he does have a point here. And a very strong one.