Amazed by the neon lights and the electric energy of Mumbai, Malini Agarwal moved to Mumbai in 2000, armed with ₹40,000 and shared a room with six other girls and a pigeon. Close to two decades later, it’s been an electrifying journey for the 40-year-old. From stints as an RJ, content creator at music channels, and writing a gossip column, she is now easily India’s most famous celebrity blogger, the creator of the wildly popular Bollywood, fashion and lifestyle-centric blog MissMalini.com. What started off as a hobby, soon morphed into a flourishing business, and today she is recognised as one of the pioneers in creating a digital brand. And it is this journey that she details in her book #To the Moon – How I Blogged My Way to Bollywood . In it, Agarwal tells her story the way she knows best – through 42 blogs. The book is also a guide for people who want to navigate the world of social media and use it effectively, a world that Agarwal, a self-confessed ‘social media Jedi’ has successfully mastered.
Keep it real
“If you are a social media creator, influencer or brand, the most important thing is to feel and sound real,” says Agarwal. This was something that she imbibed very early on in her professional career, right from her radio days, making sure that even though her voice went out to millions, she spoke as though she was speaking to her best friend. Even when she went on to start her blog, she ensured that she was writing letters to her friend. “That is how you make a connection with people,” she says.
“Map out your passion, vocation, profession and mission; the centre is your sweet spot,” says Agarwal, drawing on the Japanese concept of Ikigai, as her mantra to finding her niche. Her blog started off as a desi girl’s guide through Bombay featuring Bollywood, parties, music and fashion — things that she was interested in. One day she realised that there was no voice that represented the 16- to 30-year-old millennial; nothing between a Chota Bheem and Bollywood. “That was the gap I identified,” she says, “and why I created the Ms Malini animé, because we didn’t have a character that represented the bold, young India.”
Navigating the social scene
Agarwal believes that, as a digital influencer, the key is to determine the tools that work for you. The true power of social media hit her, when as an RJ she got a tweet from actor Imran Khan appreciating her show. She replied asking him to be part of it and to her surprise he agreed “When you are putting yourself out there, you are putting yourself out there for backlash and criticism so be careful of how much you want to reveal about yourself ,” she says. “You have to learn whom to ignore and whom to respond to.”
Playing safe
Agarwal has a simple thumb rule when it comes to content on her blog: she will not write anything that she cannot say to her subject’s face. While people have questioned her, comparing what she does to sidling up to the stars, she believes differently. “We all love Bollywood, and what the stars wear, eat, and do is an extension of that,” she says. “It is so hypocritical to tear them down constantly and then go revel in their movies. The question arises: why do we only write negative stories? It took me years to establish this trust, for the stars to see me as someone who is not in this to twist there words.” The support from Bollywood for her book has been phenomenal: from stars tweeting about it to Priyanka Chopra writing the foreword for it.
#To The Moon will be available in bookstores and online from January 6.
