While, one Khan proclaimed
that he is not a ‘terrorist’ and other was roaring like a ‘Tiger’ at the box
office, this Khan, claimed his place on the pedestal by quietly telling the world
‘Satyamev Jayate’. Yes folks, Aamir proved once again to one and all that he is
indeed a maverick and he is cut above all other stars.
The accolades for
this show and this great effort are still pouring in. While, ‘Times’ has
featured Aamir on front page, Tom Hanks is singing paeans about Aamir’s show.
When most of the other
actors are busy minting money by promoting some game shows, quiz shows, reality
shows or even promoting hair oils, innerwares on small screens, this ‘star’
chose to enter the tele-world with a show dedicated to a social cause. With
issues like female foeticide, child sexual abuse, dowry, inequalities in caste
system, Generic drugs, he connected with the peoples of India. Very few stars
would have gone this difficult way to connect with people!!
With this show, Aamir
proved once again why moniker ‘Marketing Guru of Bollywood’ rests with him.
Right from timeslot to air the show to creating post episode ‘Impact’ every
aspect was well thought of and well executed.
With one masterstroke of slotting the show on Sunday 11.00 am, he killed
the competition. He also managed to pull off a coup of sorts by ensuring the ‘simulcast’
of the show on various channels (Star Group channels, ETV channels in south and
Doordarshan). The production team also ensured that each episode was translated
in regional languages to enhance the reach. The master strategist, did not stop
at just this, he also used Vividh Bharati i.e. Radio to air the show, covering
areas which television could not!!!!.
In my opinion, the
real reason why people were so inquisitive and anxious to watch this show was Brand
Aamir, which was carefully managed, nurtured and grown since long. Aamir was
always a hermit and kept himself away from media glamour, thus every project
that he was associated with, be it his movies or this show, generated enough
curiosity among his fans and competitors alike.
In order to make this show a hit, perfectionist and master strategist Aamir
went to the extent of ensuring that while promos of his shows were ‘on-air’,
all other advertisements featuring Aamir were pulled off air so as to ensure
that there is no overdose of Aamir on television and help maintain the
curiosity and focus on the upcoming show rather than the creator (Case in
contrast could be Ra.One promotions or should I say Shah Rukh Khan promotion!!!).
With the use of technology this team also attempted an arduous task of analyzing
messages generated from social media. The marketing strategy of the show
was absolutely bang-on. I will not be surprised if the great marketing and
brand positioning connoisseurs like Jack Trout, Al Ries, Philip Kotler take
cognizance of this marketing strategy and mention this case in their books, for
it is comparatively easy to sell a product than to sell such a show with social
responsibility.
I am sure such a show
would not have been possible without Aamir, as he lent honesty and dignity to
this show and because of the man associated with such program, each episode created
positive impact on the society. Phone lines of Alcoholic Anonymous crashed
within few minutes after the helpline number was flashed during the episode,
website of Satyamev Jayate also crashed with
comments pouring in from all corners for the world. Forget that few state
governments (!!!) agreed to distribute generic drugs in state government run
hospitals!!! What many a movements could not have achieved was achieved by this one show!!
Haven’t we heard
Thomas Grey’s ‘An Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard’
“Full many a gem of
purest ray serene
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
If not for this show
and the extensive research and surveys conducted by the research team, the
sufferings of many people; the path breakers who were doing their bit to
improve the situation or fighting against a particular issue would never have
been known to us and would really have been the perfect examples of flowers
wasting their fragrance in desert land.
This is a perfect
example of how stardom can be utilized to make an impact on the society. The
other major examples that I can think of, as far as Indian context is
concerned, are Anti-Polio campaign supported by Amitabh Bachhan with a catchy
tagline of ‘Do Boond Jindagi Ki (2 drops of Life)’ and Aishwarya Rai’s campaign
for eye donation.
Just the way we have
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for businesses, in my opinion, we should
also have Stardom Social Responsibility (SSR) drilled into Bollywood/ Sports,
which would help spread awareness about many such social issues, stigmas.
Critics would say
that Aamir did not host this show for free and has made tons of money through
this show. While nobody can deny that fact that he has made money, but what we
can say that he has at least, helped many institutes to garner money (through
SMSs from viewers and philanthropic efforts of Reliance Foundation), who
otherwise were working tirelessly in oblivion and with very less resources at
their disposal.
When applause dies,
achievements are forgotten, the real task for Aamir and Satyamev Jayate begins.
As a reaction to this show, many initiatives have been taken, be it at a
Government Level or in individual capacity, but if the makers of the show are
really serious to bring about the change in the society, they would have to
adopt corporate style and take a stock of these initiatives and check the
progress of these initiatives one year from now. Such a step would really
separate initiatives taken as a knee jerk reaction to the public uproar, from
those started in all earnestness.
Mahatma Gandhi
proclaimed, ‘Be the change you want to see’ and Aamir followed that sincerely.
He really showed that he wants the society to change and he made all the
efforts in his capacity to kick start such a change. Aamir Maverick Khan, take
a bow sir, for starting such a campaign.
P.S.
As I rightly said, the real test of the show as pathbreaking
initiative begins now. The recent news of 3 month old baby with battered skull being
admitted to KEM Hospital is an indication of how callous we are (Hospital
authorities are suspecting that it could be a case of child-battering, since
the parents have failed to give an alibi for such grave injuries).
The tagline
of promos was “Jab dil ko lagegi, tabhi baat banegi”, but seems that we
all are a severe case of cardiomyopathy and it would take some effort for our
‘dils’ to be hurt…
