He made me look stupid seductress

They say, behind every successful man is a woman. Likewise, in Bollywood, behind every successful brand, is a publicist.

Upcoming actress Sherlyn Chopra realized this last year, when she hired the services of celebrity publicist Dale Bhagwagar, who also looks after the imaging of the likes of Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Shiney Ahuja, Esha Deol and films of Farhan Akhtar.

Sherlyn, (then called Mona Chopra) was languishing in obscurity after her C-grade films ' Time Pass ', 'Jawani Diwani' and 'Naughty Boy' had bombed. But the self-proclaimed "master manipulator" that Dale is, he managed to turn the tides for the actress.

Within no time Sherlyn was splashed in various newspapers and magazines with a variety of pictures, all of which befitted her well-publicized 'split personality'.

At times, she would look demure. At other times, bold and daring. At times, she would be photographed dressed as Santa Claus and playing with kids. At other times, she would appear on the cover of Man's World, imparting sex gyan.

At times, she would pose for newspapers wearing a tricolour salwar-kurta. At other times, she would be arrested by the Alibaug police for doing a bikini photo shoot without police permission on the beach.

At times, she would attend a music launch event dressed in a burkha, protesting against the unwillingness of the makers of her film 'Game', to change her name from Mona Chopra to Sherlyn Chopra in the title credits of their film. At other times, she would appear nude in fashion photo shoots.

Whatever the reason, Dale ensured Sherlyn Chopra always hogged the limelight. On her part, she never disappointed him and churned out scandalous quotable quotes by the dozen to a jaw-dropping media; a quality the publicist loved.

Within a matter of months, Dale's calculating strategies and media placements turned her into being 'controversy's favourite child'. She received loads of attention in the print, television and internet media throughout the year.

So it has come as a shock to the fourth estate, that Sherlyn has kicked out the very publicist who made her the brand she is. She has claimed that the publicist tried to be "God" in her life and kept telling her what she should do and what she should not.

Sherlyn loves to be in the midst of things and her teaming up with this publicist had proved to be an unbeatable dynamic combination.

So what made her throw him out? "Apart from manipulating the media, Dale constantly told me what I should do and avoid; which paper I should speak to and which paper I shouldn't. I even heeded to an extent, but then he began behaving as if he was all powerful; as if he ruled me. But he's just a PR. Not a God," quips Sherlyn.

But surprisingly, the publicist only has good words for his ex-client. He says, "Sherlyn is not only a fiery person but a powerhouse performer. Her talents have been untapped until now. But just wait for her music album 'Outrageous' to release.

She will stun everyone with her singing prowess and performance. Pralhad Kakkar is directing her debut video and he will work magic for her. "

Isn't the publicist upset with Sherlyn for throwing him out? "I can't help but move on. She fired me as she thought of me as a control freak. But I can't help it as I pride on that quality of mine. I like to guide and tell my clients and the media what I need from them. My profession demands me to be stern at times.

See, I can't be a yes-man to my clients. I prefer to plan, strategize, do imaging and media placements. I like to tell my clients what to do and what not to. I like to guide and groom them for the media. If that's being God, then I am God".

As soon as Sherlyn removed the publicist, she went ahead and bad-mouthed Vinod Pande, the maker of her recent film 'Red Swastik'. Pande had mentored the actress when she was down and out and cast her in his psycho thriller which miserably bombed at the box-office due to an improper release strategy.

Sherlyn asserted. "I will never again work with a filmmaker like Vinod Pandey. I am ashamed that I had to mouth my dialogues like a seductress. Vinod wanted me to overact all the time.

Can't you seduce without nakhras? At 22, when I can understand, why can't Vinod pandey who is a veteran in this industry understand what the difference between real and fake is?"

"I would have never allowed her to do something as foolish as spewing venom against a film director," says Dale. "I know that by now, she hates me advising her, but makers and their films are the ones to catapult an actor to stardom. One should never badmouth them. "

Dale modestly adds, "However hard a publicist would try, it's ultimately the films and their appreciation that speak for any artiste. "

But wasn't he the one who managed to bring Sherlyn into the limelight when the media was wary of featuring her because of her down-market past? "Yes, I did. So what? It was my job and I was handsomely paid for it. Even if I have to do it all over again for any other actress, I would," he says.

"When the media refuses to give mileage to an artiste I take it up as a challenge to splash him or her across the papers and television screens. Such challenges give me a kick," Dale adds.

Sadly for the publicist, while fulfilling one such challenge, it has turned out that he himself got the kick.