Mumbai, June 01: Time was when the media would keep its antenna up for minute details of a celebrity`s life. But the tables seem to have turned. Many of the top stars and production houses now collect data to keep up-to-date on mediapersons.
For instance, Aamir Khan has a database of 220 media personalities across the world. It started as a publicity exercise for his film Ghajini, in which he played a man with short-term memory loss and needed reminders of people he closely interacted with through Polaroids. Now, the data his team collected is a part of Aamir Khan Productions` records.
"Whenever the actor wishes to refresh his memory on a mediaperson`s birthday, basic character traits or other personal details, he can access it within seconds," an insider said. So one shouldn`t be surprised if Aamir wished an editor on his/her birthday or invited a journalist to break bread with on a monsoon evening.
It was Shah Rukh Khan who started the trend of interacting personally with the fourth estate. There are stories that SRK also maintains a database of various journalists from across the globe, though this is denied by his public relations manager. But the woman concedes SRK has an elephant`s memory; once he has been introduced to a mediaperson, he usually remembers the name and character traits. And occasionally, if reminded by a close friend—like Karan Johar, he also remembers to call journalists and share a few thoughts with them.
