So my mother is addicted to Kon Banega Crorepati these days and I end up having to watch it with her sometimes. Oh tey em tey gee, what’s with Amitabh worshipping? I get he’s a superstar but seriously he’s just that… a movie star… not a saint, not a “people’s hero”… what has he done for the people of India for them to be idolizing him like this? People have elevated his status to that of some divine figure… Countless times on that show I heard people say things like “Aap tau hamare bhagwaan hain”, “Aap se baat ho gayi, hum dhannay ho gaye”, “Aap se mill liya, ab paisa waisa kuch nahin chahiye zindagi mein”.
shudders Just. Stunned.
I’m not trivializing their talent or the years of hard work the celebs put in for our entertainment but there’s a difference between admiring someone for their work and going completely overboard with the obsession. This quote summarises my rant - “If we confuse heroes and celebrities, we deprive ourselves of real role models.”
In Hindu religion there is figure of god for everything, for instance, lightning, wealth, health, dance, rain.So people tend to believe that these ever green personalities are equal to god if no less.People do pooja of Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mahngeshkar and pata nahi koun koun!
But this isn’t just about Amitabh and Indians… this is true for celebs all over the globe… I’m sure we’ve all seen people cry and scream in their infatuation for their beloved celebs! Did anyone hear the news about Justin Bieber’s murder plot and how he’s at risk of celebrity worship?
If there’s one celeb I’d like to meet, that would be Amir Khan but no way on earth would I drool all over him and be like omgz my life is now complete! This behaviour I just find disturbing whether it’s about Amitabh or Angelina.
I would say it is more with the Bollywood. India being the biggest film industry and the cinema goers are poor basically, and so they readily connect themselves with the “gods and goddesses” of cinema. Sorta escapism maybe. I find it cute anyway. At least they have some consolation.
You should read some of the posts on Pinkvilla. The posters can get super emotional/passionate about the celebs…with comments like Aishwarya’s a better mother/DIL/ wife than so n so. Like how do you even determine that? LOL…it’s funny.
I think the Romans had the right idea about entertainers, it wasn’t something to be aspired to. Think about it, most celebrities are selling their looks and bodies to make money. They’re like monkeys dancing for our entertainment. Is that really respectable?
Try listening to morons defending their favourite Jersey Shore characters. Makes me ashamed that we’re the same species.
Reminds of a funny incident that actually happened a long time ago.
Jacky Shroff was in Vienna for the shooting of a movie and because my dad had a small part in that movie too, we were invited to meet him. Btw, he is a really nice chap. Unlike Govinda who was also there but incredibly rude which is why I didn’t even want to meet him. Anyway, my Dadiamma was in town around that time too so we took her along. When meeting Jacky Shroff she said “Beta mujhe lagta hai, maine tumhe kaheen daikha hai.” And he goes “Zaroor daikha hoga Maa Ji.”
Just. Stunned.
This behaviour I just find disturbing whether it’s about Amitabh or Angelina.
No way!!
LOL…it’s funny.