One must think that a star is made because of his sheer talent, charisma and luck. Some must think it’s also the family background that matters. Of course it helps when you come with a surname that reads Khan or Kapoor, but imagine a star kid caught up in controversies or being written about in the media for all the wrong reasons! That is a possible end of what could’ve been a bright road to stardom. This is the point where PR comes into the picture like a hero and spins the table around. From reputation management to public appearances to brand endorsements and even bagging the right movies, PR in Bollywood is a little more magical than it is in any other industry.
The wizards are not many though. We have PR agencies a dime a dozen but the ones who have created successful case studies are few. A case in point is Raindrop, India’s Numero Uno Reputation Management Company to the biggest superstars in Bollywood, not to mention, ‘Media Director’ to some of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters. Founded by the go-getter Rohini Iyer, the company has become a super player in the entertainment PR industry in a short time and is the force behind many changes and innovations in the industry.
Rohini shares, “Ever since I saw my first film, I have been obsessed with cinema and the love story continues. When I started off there was no method to the madness in the reputation management industry and that was something I aimed to change. I love fixing things and always follow my gut instinct; it’s never let me down. At the same time, we don’t play by the rules and we don’t subscribe to mediocrity.”
This seems like the reason why Raindrop boasts of a clientele some agencies can only dream of. Testimonials to the success of this agency are the outstanding client lists which includes of Bollywood’s creme de la creme like Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Kangna Ranaut, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor Khan, John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Sonam Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez not to mention filmmakers Ekta Kapoor, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Farah Khan, MohitSuri, Aanand L. Rai, Kunal Deshmukh and R. Balki to name a few. In the past, the company has worked with superstars like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor among others.
Raising themselves to a level where the celebrities feel that they can confide in the agency and handover their reputation in their hands is the ultimate key to keeping clients here. Even though you know the ‘stars’, it becomes really difficult to convince them to submit, surrender and entrust you with their careers. But, for Rohini, who considers the stars as her family, says, “I’ve known most of them since they started their careers, and it’s been a great journey as some of us have grown together. There has never been an annoying or difficult moment when it came to dealing with the stars honestly.”
She’s quick to add, “The journey does have ups and downs though, as crisis management is a part and parcel of celebrity management. Some people even resort to negative publicity as it inevitably makes headlines, but we, at Raindrop, do not subscribe to this policy. Negative publicity is short lived and superstars don’t need it. Besides, I thrive on crisis and deadlines; it gives me an adrenaline rush.”
Besides these celebrities, Raindrop has also been instrumental in promoting Dabanng, ‘Being Human’ and Akshay Kumar’s 14 back to back hits. The company has played a pivotal role in profiling Ranbir Kapoor when his career took off. It also has to its credit, the success sagas of Emraan Hashmi, John Abraham and even Abhishek Bachchan’s entrepreneurial venture of ‘Jaipur Pink Panthers’, which later went onto win the mega prestigious Pro-Kabaddi League.
Raindrop Media has evolved to not just consult for Bollywood celebrities, movies, but also for lifestyle clients. Their division called ‘Raindrop Alter Ego’ has also proved to be a one stop shop for low-budget-high content films like Vicky Donor, Kahaani, Tere Bin Laden, Aashiqui 2,Ragini MMS series, Shaitaan, LSD and Yaariyan to name a few. The lifestyle division is called ‘Raindrop Anam Cara’ which caters to top fashion designers, photographers, painters and luxury brands et all. To add to it is their Regional Division that targets small centers and remote corners of the country and looks at customizing a film’s promotion keeping the target city and the locals in mind and ‘Raindrop Digital’ that is a one-stop-shop to everything related to the social networking. The big news is that they are also planning a huge international collaboration and are looking to open a division in LA!
No wonder then, Rohini’s hard work started being recognized far and wide when she got featured in almost every powerful and influential entertainment /media companies in the country, which includes India Today’s Power List, Hindustan Times’ Young Turks list, Femina Power list (2013 and 2012), Verve Power list (2012, 2013 and 2014), Grazia-Reel Women, Hi Blitz! Power list and Film Street Journal and London Eastern Eye’s Power Feature. Looking at this, one can only agree that while behind a successful man, there is a woman…and behind every successful star, there’s PR!
Source : Lokesh Shastri