Celebrity, success: Boon or bane, debate panellists - Gulf Today

DUBAI: While celebrity best-selling author, social commentator and critic Shobhaa De prefers the term “reasonably successful” over “celebrity,” actor/writer Anupam Kher loves being one in his own right.

The concluding day of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Saturday saw the two stalwarts come together to talk about their thoughts on the cult of celebrity and how fame has impacted their daily lives.

Questioned on what “celebrity” really means to her, De stressed that the word is mostly subjective in the present day world. “I have written 17 books and my career as a writer/journalist spans 40 years. If at all I have to tag myself, then I would say I have done reasonably well for myself.”

Drawing from his own highs and lows, Kher, said, “I come from the small town of Simla. And I am someone who likes all the limelight and loves the thrill of being recognised and photographed.”

The veteran actor is best known to Westerners for his role in box-office hits like Bend it Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice and in the latest Oscar-winning film Silver Linings Playbook. His motivational book The Best Thing About You Is ... You! was released last year.

Media in the present times has played a crucial role in providing the so-called celebrity status to many. However, the ballgame, according to the experts, is still tricky.

“A celebrity is someone who is a true achiever. Around 80 per cent of the celebrities are managed in the world today. For me, a Dhoni or a Tendulkar is an actual celebrity, not someone who is on the pages of a newspaper because of space-selling,” said De.

“Media has turned the lives of some people, no doubt. What used to be on page 11 or 12 is now on page 1. The whole connotation of being respected and looked up to as a celebrity has seen a dramatic shift,” added Kher.

Like everything else, stardom also comes with a price. So when asked about the grey areas of being a celebrity, De said, “Media is a hungry beast. And the best would be to make optimum utilisation of its positive traits. With all the preferential treatment that people think celebrities get, there is this constant public scrutiny also that they are under. Whether you see it as a boon or a bane is a matter of personal choice.”

Being a celebrity and a successful one at that is a piece of work. But one shouldn’t forget the person that one actually is, underneath that public figure. Like De aptly puts it, “A celebrity status should be like a pashmina shawl. Wrap it around when there is a nip in the air and discard it when the air around gets warm.”

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