Aakriti: Hi I am Aakriti Goel and I am pursuing a Masters degree from Mudra Institute Of Communication.

I would like to ask you a few questions for a Consumer Insight Mining Project that we are undertaking. This Interview is to understand the phenomenon of cult personalities as I would explain to you later. This interview is totally confidential and will only be used for academic purposes. I hope you would give your honest and unbiased opinion. I will restrict any recordings of this session for academic purpose only. Respondent: Ok Aakriti: So, Can you start by introducing yourself? Respondent: I am Manju, 34 years of age. I live in Pitampura. I run a beauty parlor in Pitampura itself called Shimmer. I have a son who is 6 years old and I live with my in-laws. My husband works in a Bank. Aakriti: Ooh Great.. A beauty parlor must be taking a lot of your time. Do you get time to relax? Manju: Oh no, its not that hectic now. Its an established parlor. So I just go at around 12 once to check if everything is going well and I come back by 4. Aakriti: So what do you like doing in your free time.. As in what are your hobbies? Manju: I like listening to music, I like watching TV and Hindi movies, I like trying new cuisines and I like reading fashion magazines. Aakriti: Thats a really nice pool of hobbies. So you listen to music generally on the music system? Manju: No, mostly on my mobile or while surfing the TV. I mean I feel bored cooking alone in the kitchen, so I play my favorite playlist on my mobile and I keep on working. Similarly, I catch a lot of new songs while surfing channels. Aakriti: So Aunty, do you notice any changes around you, in terms of lifestyle and behavior? Manju: Oh yes, a lot of changes. People have become more connected and very dependent. I mean with gadgets coming in. In my parlor only, there is a massager now whereas earlier people used to do massages on their own. So people have become more advanced Aakriti: you said people have become more connected. Can you please elaborate? Manju: Oh yea. I have recently joined Facebook after my friends joined it. Its such a wonderful thing. You can talk to anyone you want. You can share photographs. You can see the other person while talking. I mean when I stay connected, even the mobile phone has helped. You know, I can keep connected with all my clients which make it so much easier. I have two mobiles. One for office purposes and I have recently bought a Blackberry because my husband had one and we can talk on BBM. Aakriti: Yea, So you are talking about the internet and the mobile phone. Is there any media which has seen the maximum change?

Manju: I would say the internet and the mobile again, also the TV but I think your generation hardly watches TV anymore (laughs). So Internet has been huge. Earlier we had dial ups and now my son has a wifi. From news to gossip, you get everything at the click of a button. Similarly for the mobile. These days you can do everything on the mobile. Be it making calls, listening to songs, downloading movie clips, getting movie alerts or astrology. Aakriti: Right, has the change in media which you mentioned so appropriately affected your family in any way? Manju: Well, it has you know. I mean my business has become easier to manage because of the phone. My husband can catch his matches on the internet. We book movie tickets online so that we are guaranteed seats and we dont have to come back from the theatre. My son does a lot of his school projects online. Aakriti: So aunty, have the changes in radio/tv/internet/films affected the interaction you have with your family members? Manju: Well, you know if I think about it. Definitely. I mean I am in contact with all my cousins on facebook, my husband wished me birthday by using the radio, I and my sister can discuss serials in between breaks using the phone, we can send across pictures to each other. So I think the change has definitely made interactions easier and smoother. Aakriti: So aunty, you talked about how various media have made the interactions smoother. Manju: Yes Aakriti: Aahh.. So has the change in these media changed the way you take a decision and also on what products/brands you consume? Manju: Ohh yes. In a big way. Earlier if I had to take a decision, I would consult people who were close to me in proximity. Now before I buy anything, I seek a thousand advices as you can get them at a click of a button. I will give you an example. One of my relatives was getting married and I had gone to this store to buy a sari with my husband but I was unable to decide between two sarees. So I sent my photo with those saris to my sister-in-law and she promptly told me what to buy. Same for brands. I think you get a lot of reviews on the internet today to decide what you want and what you dont. Though I believe this only works for things like cars and mobiles and not for things like biscuits and maggi. Aakriti: Yeah, aunty, what Is the difference you see when you see the young generation of today to what was in your times? Manju: Well, you know the young today are impatient. We were very patient. You people want everything in a short span of time. I mean look at my son. He has the internet and he has the TV. While he is watching cartoons he would want to be on facebook at the same time. I see a lot of young girls in my parlor. You people cant live without gadgets, which wasnt there in our times. I also think the

generation today is very inspired by the trend. We were never so crazy. But I think that has got to do with the exposure you have. Aakriti: Aunty you mentioned inspired by trends.. Manju: Oh yes, in my parlor I get young girls who want a haircut like Kareena or who want skin like Deepika or who want clothes like Katrina.. Thats what I mean. Aakriti: Oh.. So aunty which celebrity do you like? Manju: Well I like Amitabh Bachchan. Aakriti: Why? Manju: Amitabh Bachchan Is such a natural on screen. He has managed to look so handsome even now. His aura is different. He is the perfect man. You see his charm in Baghban or in Kaun Banega Crorepati, he has such natural elegance and grace. Aakriti: Nice.. So aunty, can you name a few personalities that come to your mind? Manju: Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Katrina, Kareena, Rekha, Madhuri Dixit,Shaimak Dawar, Smriti Irani, Sakshi Tanwar, Rajesh Khanna, Ranbir Kapoor, Sanjeev Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Jaya Bahduri, Ashwariya, Sachin, Dhoni, Anna Hazare, Mahatma Gandhi, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Obama. Aakriti: Nice.. So can you select some personalities who the new generation will like to follow, you know in terms of dressing, lifestyle, goal setting? Manju: Well, your generation? Aakriti : Yes Manju: I think your generation likes to follow Katrina and Kareena in terms of dressing. I still remember when New York came how every market had those pants which Katrina wore. Similarly for Kareena, everyone is praising and trying to ape her Ra.one look. And I think Aamir Khan, the time when Ghajni came everyone wanted that hairstyle. Aakriti: So lets do an exercise. I am putting out some cards in front of you. Can you group these cards? Manju: Yes. Aakriti: Thank you, can you read out the groups you have made and the reasons why you have made these groups? Manju: Yes, I have grouped Amitabh Ji, Dev Sahab and Rajesh Khanna in one group. I think they were superstars in their times and will remain iconic. I have grouped Parveen Bobby, Zeenat Aman and Rekha in one group because they were and continue to be divas. I have grouped Katrina and Kareena in one group because I think they will be the next queens of Bollywood. I have grouped Shahrukh and Kajol as

one because of the brilliant chemistry they share on screen. I have grouped Aamir Khan, Rahul Gandhi, Nandita Das and Javed Akhtar because I feel they are opinion leaders. Ranbeer, Sonam , Abhay Deol, Deepika, Farhan in one because they all belong to the new generation. I have grouped Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Esha In one because they are bad actors. I have grouped Rekhaji and Hemaji in one group because they manage to look evergreen to this day. I have grouped Shaan and Sunidhi in one group as they are the voice of today and Lataji and Rafi Sahab in one group. Aakriti: Thank you!! So ,as you mentioned earlier about the Ghajini rage, Why do you think Indians have such a fetish for celebrities? Manju: Well, I think we all live boring lives and we want our life to be as interesting. I think everyone wants to be popular and no one gains more popularity than our celebrities. I also think that ever since we are born, we are exposed to celebrities and hence they become a part of our lives and we start looking up to them. Aakriti: Aunty, now I am going to introduce to you a new concept called Cult Personalities. hameny

bahut sarey personalities key bare mein baat ki. In mey sey kuch log aisey bhi hotey hain jinsey lagav deewangi ki haad tak pahuch jata hai- log unkey liyeh ladney tak ko taray ho jatey hain. Ya phir unki copy kareten hai, jaise ki aapne kaha, Amitabh Bachchan ka French Cut ya phir Aamir Khan ka hairstyle ya Katrina ka dress. Manju: Ok Aakriti: Aaise logon ko Cult Personality kehte hai. So the list jo aapne pehle bataye the, can u tell me which personality from that is cult according to you? Manju: I think according to what you explained, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth, Hemaji, Lataji, Sachin, Rekha, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan are cult. Aakriti: Why would you say so? Manju: I think they have immense fan following. People would die to be like these people. I think they have a huge fan following, people swear by their name. Whenever say an Amitabh Bachchan falls sick, people pray for him to get well. I think wo deewangi ki had inn logon ke liye exist karte hai. Aakriti: So aunty, would you call Katreena Kaif cult? Manju: I dont think she is cult. She has her fan following but she doesnt have the god like status which cult personalities attain. I mean her personal life is of no concern to people unlike say someone like Amitabhji. If Katreena Kaif was married and was having a divorce no one would care, but if the same was to be with Amitabh Bachchan, the entire nation would be worried and be talking about it.

Aakriti: So aunty, since you understand the concept of cult personalities now. I would like you to imagine two world- World A comprising of cult personalities and the other world B where there are no followers of any personality. Okay? Maju: Okay. Aakriti: So aunty, can you describe to me the kind of people living in both the worlds, their age their gender? Manju: World A would have a lot of youngsters both male and female while World B will have middle to old aged people again both genders Aakriti: Okay, would there be any difference in the attitude the two worlds would have, the clothes they wear and their education? Manju: I think World B will be more simplistic, the attitude would be better and mannered. They wouldnt be influenced and would be what they are and more educated than World A, as there would be no distractions. World A would be how the world is today, influenced, impatient, trying to be someone you are not. Aakriti: What kind of music would World A and B listen? Manju: I think World A would have a lot of your Bollywood and dhinchak numbers. A lot of item numbers with skinny girls. World B would have classical authentic music Aakriti: Given a chance aunty, where would you want to live? Manju: I dont know. I think without any celebrities the world will become too boring. I would want to live in a world which had celebrities like Amitabh, Jayaji, Rajesh Khanna. So neither of the two worlds. Aakriti: Thank you Aunty. This is the concluding stage of the research. Aunty, there are various brands we use in our everyday life. Right? Manju: Yea Aakriti: Is there any brand which you think is a cult brand for example a brand that can be like Amitabh Bachchan ? Manju: Well I think Maggi, Sony and Apple are cult brands. I mean I can easily associate them to Mr. Bachchan. Aakriti: Why do you think these brands are cult?

Manju: I think for these brands, you have loyalists. I mean, people are mad about these brands. I myself am a big Sony fan. My mother always praised it and all appliances in my house are Sony- Be it the TV or anything else. Similarly, my son loves Maggi. He wouldnt buy another brand if he doesnt get maggi. Aakriti: So aunty, why do you think some brands like Sony you said are cult while some like Bournvita are not able to achieve that status? Manju: I dont know. I think for being cult you have to test deep waters. You have to constantly be in public memory, maintain a healthy relation and make yourself a part of the life of any individual which Maggi say has been able to do. Aakriti: Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. Wonderful meeting you. Bye Manju: Nice meeting you too beta.