The Daily Horoscope of Live Hosts in 2020: Gitikka Ganju Dhar, Curator Ministry of Talk - Made in India

The darling of India’s experiential industry, curator of The Ministry of Talk – Made in India, Gitikka Ganju Dhar is India’s most awarded live host and the preferred choice for events that require more case than trace, experiences that are large format, content-based and necessitate the gear of experience and expertise. She will also be seen on big screen in a major motion picture. Here is what she thinks of the future of live hosting in India.

2020, it rhymes 50:50. A lame connection, but bear with me and read me out. The numbers say it all. It is going to be a fifty-fifty year for live hosts in India. Sorry, but I prefer truth over TRP.

So, why will the cookie crumble this year?

India's GDP growth for the three months ending September 2019 fell to 4.5%, down from 5.0% in the previous three months and 7% for the corresponding period of 2018 as consumer spending and private investment weakened further and a global slowdown impacted exports growth. So, what does this have to do with the Daily Horoscope of live hosts in 2020, you squeal and admonish me! It is simple my host/dost! In the marketing mix, the experiential experience is still at the near-bottom of the pyramid. Don’t do a La Tomatina festival on me, but our offering as an industry is dispensible, if the King sits in his counting-house, counting out his money.

Has there been an axing of the volume and budgets of premium events work across the country? Yes. Have the experiential agencies had to prune vendor and artist pay-outs? Yes. Who are the most hired artists in the Indian live space? Live Hosts. Have the volumes of work for live hosts in the premium, high and medium fee categories sunk? Yes. Is it going to get any better in 2020? No. The year 2020 will be a sequel to the latter half of 2019 for live hosts. The present government looks determined to end economic despondency. So, we must not lose hope. But what we must arm ourselves with is, patience and wisdom and humility and discipline and creativity and most importantly, strategy.

And, we must not panic and do a Desperado!

So, this year, the live hosts who have carved an unassailable position in a given slot for themselves will continue to rake in the moolah, though, even they will have to offer Christmas discounts, I can even put a figure to it - Anywhere between 25% to 30%. They will have to create better, work harder and adhere to discipline and professionalism like never before. If not, they will be blurred out for a more cost-friendly alternative, excellence be dammed.

Then, live hosts who have focused on content will continue to have takers. Knowledge and intelligence never go out of demand. The demand and supply curve is also in favour of hosts who have based their repertoire on content. They too will have to bow to market constraints in terms of fee.

Actors, models and socialites who anchor once in a while, as a means to earn some money for caviar, will also face the brunt. Except for events broadcast on television, where matter will still be preferred over mind, and sadly so, they will experience a never before rebuff. Between a celebrity anchor who needs baby-sitting and hand-holding, and a professional emcee who is a Mrs. Doubtfire, nanny-in-command, the professional emcee will win, win, win this year! I am saying this from experience and I also believe it is high time! There have been multiple pitches where a professional emcee has been pitched with a star proposed to host, the little star has quoted an insane amount of money and gotten the axe. Why? Because between someone who can handle an event and dock it safe and a star, who may but render only a fuzzy job, it is the professional emcee at a reasonable fee who is getting chosen every single time. Brad Pitt doesn’t host the Oscars, more of the kinds of Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Crystal, David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel do! But, as usual, it will take a while before we get the proverbial knock-knock on our Indian heads.

While I write this article for the larger good, I must squeeze in some news of my own too. This may be for the larger good too! As we surge into this new year, we hope to draw new trajectories and make new beginnings, whilst keeping safe and snug the treasures of the years gone by. In my case, what I will continue to hold close to my heart is my work as a live host and television anchor. I hope I will continue to be awarded opportunities to steer talk at India's leading events. As I always say - I will talk till I stand. For now, I am ready to add a new chapter in my career, as a Talk Specialist in the Indian experiential space. Most of you, who have worked with me over the last two decades, would be aware of my love for words. I look back with great satisfaction at the fact that I have penned almost all the scripts that I have expounded on stage as a host and I know for a fact what an important role my words have played in the script of my career. A live host's mainstay is the content she or he pours into the event, the rest is supplementary. I am happy to share with you that under the banner of Ministry of Talk - Made in India, my team and I will be happy to deliver well researched and customized scripts for your events. For the larger good! Of course, I will attempt to fill my coffers too.

Alright then, my final message to all live hosts out there will be – Be Good and do the job you were engaged to do! Because this year money will talk and Bad Boys and Girls Who Just Wanna Have Fun, will have only a few takers.

So, give them something to talk about or book your seat to the moon.

EE News Desk

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