CELEBRITY SHORT CUTS

CELEBRITY SHORT CUTS
There were times when something extraordinary had to be done to become a celebrity. Right Brothers had to literally risk their lives to give us the pleasure of flying. Graham Bell had to spend sleepless nights to make communication become so easy by inventing telephone. Mohandas karamchand Gandhi had to abandon legal practice and let the whole world know that freedom could be earned by non-violence and Satyagrah. History is full of such celebrities who did something special for humanity. These celebrities are in all fields: Art, Science, Culture, Literature, Politics, Industry, Education, Administration etc.
Presently one takes out her bra and becomes celebrity. Other one paints herself nude and becomes celebrity. Next one announces to run nude if India wins the Cricket World Cup. Men are not behind. There are many cases of controversial rouges that have made it big in reality shows just because their nuisance value increases the TRP of the channels. Rakhi Sawant and Rahul Mahajan come to my mind instantly who were the darling of the channels who aired Swayambers for them. Rakhi made her known by daring outfits and Rahul by his drug addiction. Nonetheless they claim to be celebrity and media promotes them as such.
We now live in times of showmanship or show-woman-ship. The more vocal, unconventional and arrogant you are the more the chances of your being a celebrity. True such celebrity status may be short lived but it is enough for raw young minds to be motivated and imitate them. Thousands of boys and girls are rushing to Film centers to try their luck in acting, singing, dancing and anything that can be claimed entertainment. A very few of them do make it big but most end up in abject depression due to rejection and failure.
The mushrooming teaching institutes in all neighborhoods in the field of dance, music and acting and the ever increasing ambitions of parents are further fueling these phenomena. Children in the age group of 3 to 12 are being pushed to extreme limits to learn and perform. A peek at the crowd gathered during the auditioning competitions will prove the point.
It is not that in future we will be deprived of true celebrities. There always will be some genuinely hard working men and women who will do something to benefit the society. It is the role of media to present healthy trends and promote them rather than gaining cheap publicity.