MEDIA - PR
Parul Chawla, who is today one of the leading PR professionals in the entertainment industry confesses at the outset when I meet her at her modest four room office at Oshiwara that she never had ever dreamt even in her wildest dreams that she would end up as a PR person. “When I was young, it was my dream to assist the renowned filmmaker Yash Chopra first and then launch myself as a director, especially because Ramesh Talwar who had directed my father’s film Sahibaan with Rishi Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit had worked with him as his assistant. But though I could not end up as one, I feel that I have no regrets because I am now a Media Director”, avers Parul when I meet her for this interview.
Mr Chawla had made a film called Apna Desh Paraye Log before he made Sahibaan. “My father wanted to announce not one but three projects after the release of Sahibaan, but unfortunately for us, he left us on August 26, before he could announce them. One of them had Bappi Lahiri as the music director, one had Sridevi as the leading lady and one had Kader Khan in a pivotal role and all were big names at that point of time. All the projects were abandoned after his death and I had to start from scratch”.
“Being a producer’s daughter, I understand the plight of all the producers, I make it a point to guide the new producers as I feel connected with them”
Parul says that it was when she wrote the script of Tara Ram Pum Pum for producer Gulshan Rai that she realized that she gets a ‘high’ of her own when she writes a script and she is cut out to be a filmmaker but then destiny snatched away her father from her when her father the renowned producer Chawla died at the young age of just 41.”My father was my best friend. After he died, I was trying to find a foothold for me as far as my career was concerned but did not want to use my father’s name to scale heights but wanted to do it on my own”.
Parul was actually studying at Shimla and hence could not spend more time with her dad. Incidentally Parul began her career as a PRO way back in 1998 when she handled the satellite promotion for the film Qila starring Dilip Kumar. “It was tough to begin with because satellite was just beginning. It was R.R. Pathak who inspired me to take up publicity as I had observed him at close quarters when I was working on the publicity of films like Ghulam and Dushman. Pathaksaab was very time bound and professional to the core. A lot of people were even scared of Pathaksaab.”
Parul who has acquired a reputation of being a no nonsense person in her field continues. “It was very difficult to understand the nuances of the craft. By the time I became a PRO, the old traditional concept of publicity had changed. To those who feel that it is very easy to be a PRO, all that I would like to say is that it is just a big myth that you can become a PRO by just sending invitations to all the journalists or calling up every one on the telephone. As a PRO, it is part of your job to create a kind of excitement for the film for which you handle publicity”.
“Ronnie Rodrigues has had the foresight to come up with a film fortnightly which is ahead of others and thinks differently”
When asked to dwell upon the difference between PR then and now, Parul is blunt enough to confess that earlier there were just a handful of journalists and PR was all about relationship whereas nowadays it is all about communicating. Parul adds, “PR is the most thankless job but at the same time it is a very challenging job. If you deliver the goods, your battle is own. Every campaign that I undertake to do, I do diligently by giving my 100% justice to my work. If it’s a relationship, I do not think of the budget. I give the budget the backseat when it comes to relationship.”
Parul asserts that even today the print media has its own charm and though the youngsters have become addicted to the internet, there are people who want to go through the newspapers. Parul says that her biggest strength as a PR person is that she is not at all in awe of the stars. “Being a producer’s daughter, I understand the plight of all the producers, I make it a point to guide the new producers as I feel connected with them. But the moment I realize that a star is giving me bad vibes, I automatically detach myself and move away”.
Nevertheless, Parul says that she has enjoyed every moment of being a PR because she feels that it is a wonderful place to be in and the film industry is more like an extended family. “Every day is a learning experience for me as far as the media is concerned. I tell my team of staff members that they should have a lot of patience while dealing with the media because you never know when who will be offended. In fact, I make it a point to conduct media familiarization sessions with my staff before they are inducted into the profession on a day to day basis.”
Parul confesses that the biggest problem that any PR faces today is to differentiate between the genuine journalist and the gatecrasher who camouflages himself as a professional journalist at parties. “Senior journalists like you know their job in and out and even go out of the way to guide us PR persons whenever we go wrong. As far as journalists are concerned, we purely go by the basis of their individual outputs and decide whether to invite X or Y. In fact we also write in our invitations that we do not encourage sms or whatsapp forwards because some journalists forward their messages for invitations to the gatecrashers”.
Parul says quite frankly that if a PR is not successful, his or her peers also would not talk about him or her. “It is only if a PR is popular that his or her peers start talking about him or her in not-so-glowing terms. Though my father had actually goaded me to act in a film and had also planned to launch me as a heroine over 25 years ago, I do not have any regrets that I did not take up acting. My elder brother Vikas Chawla was also slated to be launched by my father as an actor but after his death he decided not to push himself as an actor, as he realized that acting was not at all his forte”.
Though the no nonsense girl that Parul today is known as says that she has handled the publicity of over 100 films in her career from Qila, like Chal Mere Bhai, One Two Ka Four, Chandni Bar, Ghulam, Dushman etc as a PR, besides several music albums, actors , lyricists, music directors etc, she does not hesitate to admit that she decided not to touch her hand as far as production of films is concerned because she feels that production is an altogether different ball game and she would not like to risk her hard earned money.
Parul is of the opinion that production is altogether a different ball game. “I have decided that I’d make a film only if I am confident of making my table profit, not otherwise. I would rather keep on doing what I am good at. I have distributed over 40 films including Tamil films like Mangatha and Venghai. I lost in some films and made money in some. I distributed films like Crook, I Hate Story etc and Besharam was my last release as a distributor in Orissa. I feel that distribution is too risky a business today as far as films is concerned.”
Parul is full of praise for Ronnie Rodrigues the publisher of Cine Buster. “At a time when not everyone is ready to come out with a print magazine, he has had the foresight to come up with a film fortnightly which is ahead of others and thinks differently. I am glad that his magazine has reached out in such a level that people who have not got a copy of it is clamoring to have one in their hands”
Parul concludes as a matter of fact. “I do not all consider any other PR person as my competitor and am glad I am the queen in my own space but feel that we must have our own association to safeguard the rights of all the PR people”.
