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"Good publicity is good, but bad publicity is better,” laughs Dale Bhagwagar, founder proprietor of the Dale Bhagwagar Media Group (DBMG). "No publicity is the worst publicity, especially if one is a celebrity, whether in acting, the business world or even politics,” says the man whose firm has received awards and felicitations for excellence in the field of celebrity public relations (PR).
Known to make any story work to his clients’ benefit, Bhagwagar says he has handled PR for over 150 celebrities including actors Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Priyanka Chopra, Esha Deol, Shiny Ahuja, Randeep Hooda and Vivek Oberoi.
When he was 14, Bhagwagar wrote a poem which his father Yezdi sent to Twinkle Star, a children’s magazine published every Saturday by Nagpur’s leading English language newspaper The Hitavada. "The thrill of seeing my name in print was indescribable!” recalls Bhagwagar. "I was on cloud nine! From that moment I knew that writing and being published would become my profession.”
After school Bhagwagar joined Nagpur’s Hislop College, with English literature and supplementary English as his main subjects. His passion was watching movies, The Sound of Music being one of his favorites. "My mom Dinoo and dad encouraged me and gave me a great upbringing. Later it was my maternal grandfather Homi Randeria who was the biggest — nay, ultimate — influence in my life,” he shares. "He believed in me, instilled in me an appreciation of good literature and encouraged me to follow my heart. Moreover, grandpa was a union leader in the Empress Mills and a forceful orator.”
Bhagwagar also acknowledges the part played by Mehernosh Mavalwala in shaping his personality. Mavalwala used to take youngsters for adventure camps and older people on adventure motorbike rides and, according to Bhagwagar, holds a Guinness world record for traversing 16,000 kms of the world’s highest mountain ranges, the Himalayas, on a motorbike. "I was a very shy and timid young boy. Mavalwala taught me qualities of leadership and how to be assertive without being overbearing,” says Bhagwagar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While in college, Bhagwagar wrote film and music reviews for The Hitavada. In 1992, before the end of his first year in college, he joined the Lokmat Times as a stringer and was soon upgraded to trainee sub-editor-cum-reporter at the business desk. "But my interest lay in entertainment journalism.” So he went to college in the mornings, worked at the business desk in the evenings, saw every new movie release at night and then sat up till 3 a.m. writing film and book reviews. "This is when the seeds of insomnia, that haunt me to this day, were sown,” he rues.
After graduating, Bhagwagar moved to Bombay to further his starry dreams, staying with his masi (mother’s sister) Jeroo Poacha and her family at Cusrow Baug. His first job was with the popular Cine Blitz magazine at a salary he couldn’t refuse. "On my second day at work my career took a turn which went a long way in furthering my entry into the film world. Cine Blitz office received a phone call asking them to send someone to cover an ABCL (Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited) press conference,” he elaborates. With no one else available, the newest recruit was asked to cover the event at the Oberoi Hotel. The Big B (Bachchan) himself was not likely to be present but his company’s chief executive officer was expected to address the Press. "I was super excited,” recalls Bhagwagar, "and just in case Bachchan himself might come, I phoned my cousin and asked her to pick up my dictaphone and camera, hop into a cab and rush to the Oberoi as fast as she could!”
Joining the crush of journalists and photographers at the hotel, Bhagwagar pushed himself to the front. And lo, the Big B himself arrived! Cornering the actor near the stage, the novice requested for a short interview after the press conference. "I will just take three minutes, sir,” he pleaded. Bachchan looked him up and down because of this sheer audacity. Not one to give up easily, Bhagwagar later renewed his request for "just three minutes sir, please!” Whether it was his persuasiveness or luck, Bachchan agreed. "Three minutes, and your time starts now. Shoot!” he said. He ended up talking to Bhagwagar for 15 minutes! "I was asking questions, recording on the dictaphone and taking pictures simultaneously, without appreciating the enormity of the moment,” Bhagwagar reminisces. "It was only later that I realized I had struck gold!
"Everyone at Cine Blitz was stunned when I proclaimed, ‘I got an exclusive with Amitabh Bachchan.’ I still remember their faces filled with disbelief, until they heard the recording.”
More interviews, scandals and scoops followed, boosting Bhagwagar’s confidence. For   Bachchan’s birthday, Cine Blitz editor Rita Mehta said "‘Send Dale.’ Thereafter I interacted with many film celebrities — Govinda, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and others. Everyone looked like pygmies — figuratively and literally — after the Big B,” says the PR man.
"I was fortunate to have met the great Russi Karanjia, whose daughter was my editor at Cine Blitz. He said ‘Good to see young, energetic people like you take to journalism.’ I felt honored at meeting him and elated to hear those words from a man who had played a leading role in shaping Indian journalism!”

 

 

 

 

After completing his internship with Cine Blitz, Bhagwagar began to freelance. "I wrote for Stardust, Screen, Asian Age, Karanjia’s Blitz — he was in his 80s when I met him — and yes, the Jam-e Jamshed.”
Bhagwagar moved from his aunt’s home in Colaba to Andheri, the hub of Bollywood. He also stopped writing reviews and film reporting and began to undertake PR for actors. "A PR person’s job is coordinating between actors or filmmakers and the media. It involves arranging interviews and press conferences, circulating photos, leaking, planting or plugging news and gossip,” he shares. "My clients trust me to do what is best for their image. I get into the psyche of every client to understand how their minds function. It is very important for a publicist to do this, as everyone is unique in his or her own way and needs to be understood as a separate identity.
"Handling controversy and crisis with the media, planting stories and saving clients from dicey situations gives me a kick and is well rewarded,” he says frankly. 
In 1997 Bhagwagar started DBMG, his own independent agency. "I was confident it would work because we are living in a world where perception is reality.” In 1998 DBMG got its first big celebrity client, Shekhar Suman, star of the popular television program Movers and Shakers. Bhagwagar handled the PR for director Kaizad Gustad’s Bombay Boys, Preity Zinta’s Kya Kehna and Boom, starring Katrina Kaif. In 2003 he took on Shetty and Roshan as clients. When asked who else he would like to represent, he responds, "Aamir Khan from Bollywood and Sylvester Stallone from Hollywood. Both have done some really inspiring films.
"I started DBMG as a one-man concern. Today I have 13 representatives in different parts of the country and three good lawyers as legal support for my clients and myself,” states Bhagwagar with justifiable pride. He continued writing his column for the Jam-e Jamshed after he gave up doing reviews "because it is a Parsi publication and my link with the community. ‘Dale’s Galaxy’ provided news of the stars and the film world.”
Bhagwagar is invited as guest lecturer at different institutions, to talk about journalism, public relations and event management. "A talk I gave at Symbiosis in Poona went on for three hours because of the enthusiasm and questions from the students,” he relates.
Being a Parsi means a lot. "My grandfather Homi inculcated in me a great respect for our religion and its teachings. I am not a very religious person, in the sense that I visit the agiary only on special occasions. But I am a strong believer in Zoroastrian values. My grandpa would never leave the house without praying before a picture of Prophet Zoroaster and he instilled in me the same habit which I follow to this day. When he died, I brought the photo frame from Nagpur to my home at Madh Island where I now live.  It is the best and most precious memory of the person who helped make me what I am,” he notes.