Behind Every Successful Artist Is His Determined Manager. Here Are Our Top 5 Celeb Managers From Pollywood!
We all have heard this age old saying that behind every successful man is a woman but how many of us actually realise that in today's practical world, gender is one thing that takes a back seat for any one who is talented and holds management skills or as I may rightly say is 'A good manager'!
From big business tycoons to celebs, each one swears upon their managers for being their lifeline and also their friends in need. From their schedules to performances and shows, these untiring managers have a list of everything a celebrity has to do and off course that he or she has to totally avoid doing. Even if the celebrity is sleeping, his manager is NOT!
They are either busy planning the activities for the next day or strategising the execution plan. These guys surely have super powers to manage talent and we salute such hard working and honest celebrity managers.
If you don’t know many of them then you must check out our list of amazingly talented celeb managers who are high on energy and hold absolutely great management skills, for some the celeb is more like a family member than just an employer.
Here are our handpicked few Talent managers who are behind successful artists in the Punjabi industry:
1) Santosh : Santosh is managing one of the most famous actresses of Pollywood. Undoubtedly, he is equally famous amongst the media fellows but through us we want you to know more about his involvement in the actresses' life and how he manages her schedules. Santosh has been associated with Neeru Bajwa since 11 years now and started as her make up artist. He has been managing almost everything for Neeru, starting from her shoot schedules, her meetings and what not. So much so, that now they both have joined hands and have a production house together!
Santosh is a partner to Neeru Bajwa entertainment production house which produced Sargi and Channo.
Talking to Santosh, we found out about his association with Neeru Bajwa and also how difficult is it to manage her. Here's what he said,
"It’s been 11 years that I am working with her. She is humble, understanding and very professional. She discusses her work with me and often when we are in meetings together she takes my opinion. It isn’t really difficult to manage her because the whole industry wants to work with her and we just have to pick and choose wisely from the projects offered to us. My relationship with Neeru ji is more like family .She has been kind and very generous towards me. She has always treated me and my family like her family."
2) Rajit Kumra: This man has been into the business of celebrity management since nearly 15 years. He has been managing Bollywood celebrities like Sushmita Sen, Rani Mukherji, Shraddha Kapoor, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shruti Haasan, Chitrangada Singh, Kulraj Randhawa, Parul Gulati, Mukul Dev and a few more who didn’t really make it so big.
Just couple of years ago he connected with Pollywood artists as well and is now managing Sonam Bajwa, Mandy Takhar, Dolly Ahluwalia and Wamiqa Gabbi. His professional approach towards the celeb and the associates make him an instant favourite of both the sides. He has great communication skills and his warmth can make anyone feel at home with him.
While talking to us, he shared,"It gives me immense pleasure to add something by being part of their respective careers! Up north the trend of managers especially for actresses is not welcomed by the producers but thanks to all the girls I work with who have stood like a strong pillar behind me and supported me, I think agent culture is a bit new in Punjab territory but I am so glad that slowly it's picking up. As far as the job goes, like any other job there are good and bad days but it is definitely a high stress job. Celebrity Management is not just handling dates and money for an artist but looking into their entire public image and that's why I proudly style as well as do PR for my artists along with managing them. Many of the celebrities are managed by their siblings or friends who honestly have no idea about the business."
3) Sudipan : He is the talent agent of the current reigning female actor of Punjabi movies - Sargun Mehta. He looks after all her business matters, shows and performances.
While talking to us, he stated, "It’s wonderful to work for an actress who is so confident and good with her work. Certainly this trait in her has taken her to heights."
We asked him about how difficult it is to handle the artist, the PR agencies, fans and the journalists and he replied, "It is a phase. Artist management is not difficult but tiring. With others like PR agencies, fans and journalist its vice a versa. We have to do our job but sometimes people think that we are rude and difficult but the other side of the story is completely different. We have to manage the artist first and look at his/her priority and comfort but often a little misunderstanding or miscommunication spoils it all. But one thing that we make sure is that we don’t carry any grudges. We all are doing our job sincerely and that’s about it."
4) Vinod Aswal : He's the man who manages our desi rockstar Gippy Grewal. We have actually seen him running around to make things perfect for him. From Gippy's schedules to his shows, Vinod has a plan in hand for everything.
While talking to us, he shared the insights about managing a big name like Gippy Grewal and also his working hours with this artist. Here's what he said,
"When you are into celebrity management you can’t think about working hours. When we are together we discuss plans and execute things but when Gippy ji is abroad I re-shedule my day according to his timings and wait till the he wakes up for me to have telephonic discussions with him. So evidently there are no fixed working hours. The job is tiring for sure but it is a different zone and requires a high amount of energy every time and that's how we keep the artist as well as ourselves going strong!"
5) Yogesh Dixit : He entered the industry with Bohemia in 2009 and today has many artistes in his Artist Management Company. Sukh E, Juggy D, Jashan Singh and many more are signed by him. He takes care of their events, performances, styling and much more.
We asked him about an incident that he won’t forget ever and he recalled a performance by Bohemia in Jammu where the audience went so crazy that nearly 6000 people gathered in the lobby of the hotel to meet this artist. The situation worsened and ultimately Yogesh's team had to pay 50,000 for breakage to the hotel walas. He shared that tackling such fans after shows is really a task for him. "Everyone wants a picture with their favourite celeb but it isn't really possible as we have to get the artist back home, that too safe and sound," he signed off.
This job is certainly a glamourous one but not as easy at it seems. With no fixed working hours and a lot of pressure to make sure their celeb is at his best always, these managers deserve a pat on the back for smiling always and working tirelessly so that we keep loving our favourite artists without really seeing the ugly side of them!
You know what I mean :-P
