Celebrities are born out of a common man’s fantasy. Angels
are remote; celebrities are autograph-ably close. All our unfulfilled
aspirations are celebrated through a living creature called celebrity. They are
popular and wealthy – but the reverse may not be true. It takes ample media
coverage, camera friendliness, and consistent delivery of forget-me-not-acts to
be a real celebrity. Selection of a celebrity is not exactly natural – media
and a celebrity complement each other; both parasitically lend their support
for the other. At times they are so inseparable that it is difficult to deduce
who makes whom. Like everything else, these business concepts are imported from
the US and we, Indians, have imbibed fast. Celebrity lifestyles are food for
inspiration to adults – there are dedicated TV channels, special pages in
newspapers and websites. Even music channels slowly and gradually turned into
celebrity channels; news channels have distinct slots to cover them.
The Good [I’m good at what I do]: People of India have
wholeheartedly accepted a Sachin Tendulker or an Amitabh Bachchan. They are the
predictable set with strong accomplishments to back their claim. They are
haunted by the media; taunted as role models of kids by the parents. Net worth,
fame and dignity are in perfect harmony here. They are the original rich and
famous.
The Bad [I don’t have to be good at what I do]: Chetan
Bhagat is an IIT-IIM combination and undoubtedly elite when it comes to the
business of the brain. He is the best-selling author and probably the most
ordinary student of Indian literature. He uses his training of selling things
better than most of his finance guru classmates. A steady supplier of stories
to Hindi moviemakers, he is super-educated, intelligent, smart and successful,
but remains the shallowest in the literary world. These are intelligent people
who have found all interests in business and work very hard to see money
blooming but never really tried to show enough respect to their profession. At
times they do not bother to do justice to even themselves.
The Ugly [I don’t know what I do]: The more interesting section arises out of individuals who constantly cherish public fancy without displaying significant/any talent. These are the Paris Hiltons or Lindsay Lohans of India. Some are absolutely free from any gift and have chosen noise as the medium to catch attention. They spew venom at rivals or undergo fits of boldness in mere trifles or show controversially alternative lifestyle in public in a constant thirst to be watched. Some are almost-achievers who behave even bigger than the real achievers. They struggle to reach the top and fail, but after hiding away from public eyes for a decade, come back to don the cap of reality show’s judges and confidently refer to their “glorious” track records. WAG (Wife and Girlfriends) are another breed who eat up a lot of bandwidth of public vision – Page 3, charity, cultural events – they occupy the front seats beside their renowned spouses. In many cases they start feeling their own “creative urge” at some point and choose interior, candle or jewelry design, or enroll for a “30 days to learn tea-testing” course as an outlet. Laidback ones prefer “giving time to family” and smile on every pose in front of the camera. Celebrity network is a thick mesh that may even make a spider blush. They throw parties frequently to meet each other and gossip. Celebrities prefer speaking in English, wearing sun-glasses when out in the sun, giving fashion lessons by their choice of costumes. Usually they are either “fitness freaks” or chain smokers and in most cases tax evaders. They love animals, religions, poetry, hate atrocities against women, corruption. Media makes them experts on almost all the subjects on the planet; starting from relationship to fitness, they never mind sharing a few pointers to the mass.