Bollywood Bandwagon: ‘Private goes Public’

Bollywood Bandwagon by Bharat Gupta: ‘Private goes Public’

When you’re famous, there is a very thin line between public and private. Most celebrities struggle between what they want the public to know and how to hide what they don’t. So then who decided how far is too far?

When yesteryears actress Rati Agnihotri recently filed a case against her husband on domestic violence, her thirty year secret and more importantly suffering was made public. So does this mean that to keep your fans happy, you spend a lifetime of suffering because you fear you will be judged? Or in her case, you wait for the right time when life is more settled and your children are old enough to understand. So this kind of public display is seen in the correct line, where maybe she gives strength to many other women, and in an inconspicuous way make them believe that even celebrities lead normal lives with similar struggles.

And when Bollywood films close in on their release date and rumors of affairs do the rounds or when a cheap MMS clip gets ‘leaked’ just then their career is at the bottom of the slide, the public is ‘forced’ to peep into your private life. It is their final dash towards fame. Little do they realize that fifteen seconds of fame, well really does last for fifteen seconds.

But are we crossing the line when a troubled relationship makes daily news? Are we insensitive when Deepika’s cleavage is shown in bad light? Are we so desperate to have minute by minute details on stars or is the lack of meaty news? Is this when we cross the line and what is private must be respected.

When you choose a profession of this kind, there is a limited scope of anything being private. So you are completely aware of what you have signed up for. Many can’t handle this and fall into depression. Deepika recently confessed on her struggle with depression and she’s one amongst many who are victim to it. Once you decide to wear the mask, it’s very hard to hide what is inside. In fact some even forget or get confused between what is real and what is reel.

Social media has played a very important role in giving the actors as direct link to their fans. So any time they feel the media has taken it too far or misconstrued their words, a tweet becomes their immediate clarification. So today, when they’re judged on what they wear, how they wear it, who they hang with, what they say and why they say it; is it eventually a baggage that comes with a career they have chosen, and on the other side our over obsession with glamourizing a person and forgetting them the next.

So has the ‘Kardashian culture’ reached our shores where we want to stand naked off any emotions or physicality? One thing is for sure, we must realize that the cameras must go off, for some time at least. The celebrities need to breathe, and so do the fans.