‘If we have the ability it will come out somehow, a superman from somewhere will come and take us by the hand and lead us to victory’. This is one of the dreams of an average Malayali. But not so. Talent managers are those who understand that this is a business and every talent can be successful only if there is proper planning and implementation. Worked in more than 300 films. Worked together in the dream of around 100 actors.. Vivek Ramadevan started managing talents before the Malayali got to know this work. Vivek Ramadevan is the founder of Catalyst Entertainment Consultancy, a film marketing venture that handles project designing, talent management and entire marketing of the film. The latest movies are Peranp and Brodaddy. The work of organizing the trade of the film by looking at it in its entirety is new in Kerala.
Talent Management! Is it a job?
Yes. Talent management is one of the many tasks in the big business of cinema. Some would also call it celebrity management. But a large number of those who want to enter the cinema do not know how to get there. Even if you go to the movie set and make acquaintances with some difficulty, sometimes the movie is the fruit that you can’t get. Talent management has been around for a long time in Hollywood and Bollywood. But the Malayalam film world is getting used to this. That is where Vivek Ramadevan differs. Vivek has been working in this field for over twenty five years. There are many people who came to cinema through Vivek. Mammootty says that he wants a heroine for the new film during an advertisement shoot. A new heroine emerges after Padmapriya shows the crew of the film Gishma the pictures sent to her for modeling. Vivek’s talent management company also invited many foreign language stars like Sneha, Shriya Saran, Tamannaah, Anjali, Priya Anand etc. to Malayalam cinema due to the birth and growth of many stars like Dulquer Salmaan.
Prithviraj asked
Getting people to make certain decisions is also a high-risk job. Making decisions for them to make their dreams come true. The upcoming editions are convincing. At the first stage of talent management, Prithviraj once asked Vivek like this: ‘I have grown up in a film family. How can you give me instructions without any film experience?’. Vivek says that there is substance in that question. This work is to help those who are doubting about the business of cinema. Talent management is a team that always works together towards a common goal.
Newcomer – Dulquer Salmaan
Do you need a talent manager to get Dulquer Salmaan into films? Vivek Ramadevan has heard this question many times. Even so, Dulquer would have come to the film. But what makes Vivek’s career different is to lead towards it. At the beginning of the movie, Second Show, Sreenath Rajendran and Vini Vishwala are getting ready. Wants a new hero. The discussion came to the name of Dulquer Salmaan. When told about such a wish, Mammooka said, “Dulquer is focused on business. It seems that he is not interested in films.” Mammooka asked Vivek when he came forward with the same question several times – ‘I am going to make a film myself. I don’t have time to listen to the story of my film. In the meantime, is he listening to the story of the film for Dulquer? Finally asked him directly and gave Dulqar’s mobile number. Vivek thinks it is because of that. Nobody was told that the ‘megastar kid’ named Dulquer was coming to the film until the release of the poster of the film. Later, Dulquer was featured in a fashion show ramp walk. That was the marketing strategy of the day. And it succeeded.
The business of cinema
Things don’t always go as planned. Hence there is emotional insecurity. Decisions taken at that time will sometimes be convinced after some time. It is because of this uncertainty that the cinema is sometimes an unsafe place. But Vivek feels that cinema is a safe place like any workplace. If my daughters want to come to the movies, I will help them as much as I can. If they come to the movies, he will be a proud father. Cinema is a magic world. In that world there are those who have fallen and those who have stood. Vivek keeps saying that if the dream is a movie, more people should do this work to help pave the way for it, and more people’s movie dreams should come true.