MUMBAI: A few years ago, a middle-aged Maharashtra legislator used to walk down the corridors of the state’s seat of power, Mantralaya, unnoticed and alone. His never talked except about issues concerning his constituency and always had a file in his hand. Cut to now. There is an audience in attendance whenever he is in Mantralaya. He has got an assistant who carries his file. And most importantly, he can talk about anything—from his constituency to the much publicised alleged “wedding” of actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.
An image maker has transformed the legislator’s looks, outfits and thoughts. In Maharashtra, almost every prominent politician is now using the services of these image makers who transform them into “cultured”, “knowledgable” and “promising” leaders.
An image maker’s job is not only restricted to issuing statements on behalf of a politician for publicity but also to ensure that “the brand” says the right things at the right time.
“A politician has to be connected with the grass root. We control the flow of information and give him an idea what suits him best,” said Sunil Mane, director of Content Concept Communications Private Limited. “Of course, the image making exercise works out only if the politician does work for the people. Otherwise, it turns out be a publicity gimmick,” he added.
Most of the politicians have entered into a long-time contract with their image makers. They want to build their “brand” step by step. They believe that it is a long process and a media blitz for two months during the election period will not help them achieve the target. While the politicians from BJP are leading in this exercise, their friends from Shiv Sena are those who are lagging behind.
According to Viveck Shettyy, Managing Director of Indus Communications, image making is nothing but perception creation. “Politics is all about perception and the perception could not be built in a short period,” he said.
Shettyy argued that the politicians in Maharashtra desperately need the image making exercise because most of them are unaware about what people want. “There is no one like Balasaheb Thackeray who used to say what people wanted to hear. He was a real psycho therapist,” Shetty said.
Mane echoed Shettyy. He said the day is not so far when every politician will need a personal spokesperson and a stylist. “However, primary knowledge of the social cluster and basic issues before the society will continue to remain as the basic requirement of any image maker,” he added.
In the US, an image maker of a politician is empowered to tell him what he should wear and in which angle he should occupy a chair. The image makers in Maharashtra have not even reached close to that state but one thing is clear. They have taken the first step in that direction.