Human beings love gossiping. Few accept openly that they are interested in other people, but the fact is we do. I love listening to talk shows or celebrity interviews. Most of my time on social media is spent on watching various telly segments about the latest promotion of upcoming movies or “happening” actors of the industry.
On critics
When Karan Johar released an autobiography, it piqued my interest. I liked all his “masala” films and also the “Koffee with Karan” show. I am an ardent fan of Bollywood or Tellywood, or be any creative medium. When someone makes fun of Shahrukh or his acting, I cringe. Who are we do to judge or comment on people? We cannot act to save our life, then how do we be judgemental of other’s jobs? Its their work, which earns them bread and butter, for which you paid Rs.300/- to watch their final product.
A film is not only about the acting of the lead actors; there are so many elements in it. Be it the story, screenplay, editing, cinematography, music etc, and there is a whole lot of invisible work done to portray it on screens. Rather than brutally criticizing it, we can be appreciative of the effort they put into the outcome, however poorly it turned out to be. They too either will be learning from their mistakes, but why tear them to pieces. I have been a fan of entertaining movies, be it mindless or the art film entries. Its like older generation making fun of the computer led young people criticizing them of sitting in front of a screen and doing nothing. They do not yet know the possibilities of computing, and what goes behind to master the art of programming.
On honesty
After reading the book, I can totally empathize with the human inside the celebrity, Karan Johar. It is raw, brutally honest and endearing. It doesn’t show that he is perfect, but that he accepts himself with all his imperfections, be it feelings of jealousy, regrets, love, misunderstandings, betrayal, and plethora of primal and confused emotions. I can see the changes in his personality, as he admits himself, over the seasons of Koffee with Karan. I can feel his emotional love towards parents, because it resonates with us too. I never thought I would cry reading a book, but his narration of his father’s death moved me to tears. I can relate his hesitance to reveal about himself, even if he keeps asking about other actor’s private lives. But he did come out of the closet, and is also urging others to embrace honesty. Be it the sexual lives or the romantic relationships of celebrities. As much as its an intrusion, the fact is these are some of the cons of being popular. As much as they do not like these interferences on personal space, these are the news, most of the fans and media are looking for nowadays. They want to know whether the idol they worship are real, just like themselves.
On being “attacked”
When you have to make a new project and your close friends have the exact know how of the similar projects, why will you ever go out and trust your whole project on a stranger? Isnt it then same for a film? I simply cannot understand why people are bashing Karan for his choices of actors and neglecting “outsiders”. Yes, Kangna is bold, and I appreciate her quality of being outspoken. But I also don’t agree that Karan was at fault. As he later reveals, his company, Dharma Productions has given opportunities to many new directors.
The book, An Unsuitable Boy has reinforced my belief that celebrities are as much heart and soul as normal human beings like us. And like Simran in DDLJ, they also have the right to live their life, their own way.
