Of late, a new type of politician, whose chief talent lies in delivering effective performances in front of the camera, has come to the fore. A new kind of politics has also emerged: that of acquiring a following and rising to power by cultivating a candid on-screen persona. The personal following which such politicians usually command does not derive from any particular ideology or vision, but rather from a belief in the leader’s public persona. This paper is an attempt to pose the question of the effective persona within a theoretical matrix of ideas derived from Indian philosophical aesthetics. Using concepts drawn the literature on Rasa, the paper asks: What makes a public persona more effective than others? By way of answering this question, a definition of the concept of persona is offered, and the place of candor in it is explained.