Saif Ali Khan, Sushmita Sen, Bipasha Basu and Rahul Bose are just some stars who have replaced their secretaries with professional management companies
j_shilpa@dnaindia.netA few years back, it was normal for a Bollywood star to have a constant shadow around him—the man who took care of everything right from his schedules, to putting off persistent producers. This was the quintessential film secretary.
But now, the pan chewing, diary wielding secretary has been replaced by a suave, suit-clad young executive, essentially from a talent management company.
More and more stars are now opting for professional representation. In fact, so huge is the market potential in India, given the country’s booming entertainment industry and Bollywood’s global appeal, that some of Hollywood’s big agents are ‘sniffing around’ in India for prospective clients.
“One of Hollywood’s biggest agents, the William Morris Agency has been interested in India for a long time now. Given that a lot of stars are looking towards crossovers and international projects, it makes sense for them to be here at the right time,” sources said.
Saif Ali Khan, Sushmita Sen, Bipasha Basu and Rahul Bose are just some stars who have replaced their secretaries with professional management companies like Globosport (owned by tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi), Matrix and Carving Dreams.
“Yes, it is true that we now represent Saif for most of his dealings. As a professional company, we understand the need to build the image of a star, to create a portfolio, to choose the right endorsements—something that an untrained secretary may not be able to do,” said Anirban Blah, CEO of Globosport.
Actor Rahul Bose also echoes the sentiment. “It is unlikely that my secretary will know what kind of an image I want to project, or be able to leverage my market potential to the extent that professional companies can.”
So does that mean the role of the secretary has become negligible? “Stars still need someone who handles the actual details like dates and schedules, but we look at the bigger picture. Secretaries are needed, but they may not handle as much of the work as the used to earlier. We don’t choose films for our clients, but we make sure that the films they choose are in keeping with their image,” Blah said.
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