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Friday, February 24, 2012

Saif Ali Khan's [Alleged] Punching Episode at the Taj

I don't know what this country has become. Are we descending into some netherworld of bad behaviour? Don't know. Being a star is supposed to be a big honour. Now that Saif is a star he has [allegedly] started having fights and [allegedly] punching people. It was no ordinary punch guessing by the bandage on the receiver's nose. Of course, I am just saying, the intent may have been to impress girlfriend Kareena. Normal people would shut up if the waiter comes and tells them that they are being too noisy. But will a star do it? What prompts him to pick up a quarrel on such a trivial issue and land up in jail?

Hm. I met Saif some time ago before he was a star at the Jehangir Art Gallery. Those days he was struggling with only a few films to his credit. He was very polite and spoke very suavely to me, which surprised me. It did. No starry airs, just a decent guy. I asked for an autograph and he readily obliged. He seemed to be of slight build and seemed shorter than me and didn't look the hunk he seems on the movie screen. 

Now why do we expect our stars to be super-humans? Why do stars have to behave as otherworldly beings themselves? Why do we elevate them to the status of Gods and super-Titan who can smash villains, jump from skyscrapers, and drive at a neck-breaking 100 km per hour? These questions need answers and my sociologist friends can write a thesis on it and gain their Ph. D.s. That's all very well, do not mention the thank you, or anything. Just a footnote mentioning this blog will do.

But that said, can a star whom we elevate to such regard behave so erratically in public? I know stardom bestows some confidence. Look at Shahrukh. He had manhandled, or slapped, the long-haired Kunder some time ago. These stars endorse a lot of products which we buy because we trust them and their judgement. Can they act in a manner that's unbecoming?

Questions? Questions? Can you, dear reader, provide some answers?

I am @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. I blog here.

2 comments:

Cheriyan John Ackalathil said...

We are solely responsible for getting their so called stardom elevated to such a height that they themselves think they are superhumans. At the same time, our media make a mess of some of the episodes by adding their own special brand of masala. Our NDTV on many occasions have become classic examples of this trend.
Cheriyan John Ackalathil.

John P Matthew said...

Rajanchayan, the media itself creates the superstars and when they do wrong sensationalise it. Question before us is do we need to hold them in such high esteem?