Celebrity endorsements – well I don’t buy them. Seriously, whenever I watch a Bollywood star prancing around, flaunting a “saleable” product, the very first thought that crosses my mind is “I wonder how much he (she) got for this load of crap?”. These days celebrity endorsements are the “in” thing; no wonder the Bachchan Trio today are worth more than $ 500 million, not quoting anyone but this figure has been floating around ever since Aishwarya shifted base from Bandra to Juhu.
Then you have the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, who wouldn’t mind endorsing your bathroom as long as you have the balls moolah to afford him. And let’s not even begin the discussion on our Indian cricketers; season or no season, losing or winning, coach or no coach – their bank accounts only keep getting greener with every passing day.
These high-funda deals can be a little annoying at times, especially when you have to watch someone like the mighty Deol sporting a baniyaan named “Lux Cozi”. Such endorsements as I mentioned are irritating but they don’t piss me off, I in fact have no issues with it – I mean it’s not as if Govinda will hunt me down if I wish not to buy, Navratna Tail. But what I do find very infuriating is when celebrities propagate a social cause only with the intention of self promotion. The cause and the people dependant on it can go to hell, what only matters is that they (the stars) get their share of media attention.
Some weeks ago, a friend who works for a well-known NGO was heard complaining about certain Bollywood hot-shots, who according to her were only associated with the concerned NGO for publicity reasons. During their recently held conference on Human Trafficking, the only contribution made by two stars in particular was – hear this out – attending the press conference, that’s it!
Other Bollywood personalities present at the event included Director Onir, Usha Uttap, Anu Agarwal, Kirron Kher and Talat Aziz. Mostly all of the names mentioned were seen attending sessions organized by the NGO (over two days) in order to spread awareness and look for solution concerning Human Trafficking in India and its neighboring nations. But the guys who hogged the center stage and enjoyed all the attention – get this – Amisha Patel and John Abraham – flew in (conveniently) for the press meet and follow-up dinner. Apparently our Amisha Patel happens to be UN ambassador on the subject of Asian Human Trafficking. And on the other side you have Mr. Abraham who never stops emphasizing his middle-class upbringing and humane nature.
According to the friend, the two barely knew what to say to the media or the public present and therefore had to be spoon fed. They basically had nothing to share and did not have the time to listen to those who had. The event was covered and broadcasted by a well-known TV channel and not very surprising, they were only interested in running behind the present Bollywood personalities.
This incident appears to have left a bad taste among those who worked their butt off behind the stage. In my friend’s opinion the event would have been more worthwhile had it been limited to people who have worked in this field and those who are genuinely interested in helping out. They were also disappointed with their NGO’s stance of using these celebrities as a medium of success. But then again without the presence of Page 3 personalities which main stream media would give any footage to non-profit organizations – depressing but hardcore reality.
It literally takes my blood to its boiling point, thinking about these self-obsessed individuals who will stoop to any level just to push their careers and thereby welcome materialistic gains. And what about giving some back to the society – now what the F*** is that!
Sickening, they seriously make me sick.
Comments
13 comments | Add your comment »
M
Nov 14th, 2007 at 5:02 pm | #
It’s the same reason that humanitarians like Salman Khan get out of their cars at accident scenes to “ask if anyone needed help”.
They’re all living in seriously unusual circumstances and I don’t think anyone should be judging them or their actions. How many of us would stick to our ethics and maintain our standards if someone was throwing some dead serious cash our way?
M
Nov 14th, 2007 at 5:08 pm | #
And celebs are mainly there to get much needed attention to a cause, or did you seriously expect Anjelina Jolie-ish dedication and commitment from Amishaben?
Melody
Nov 14th, 2007 at 7:27 pm | #
Ok. Agree with almost 100% of everything you’re pointing out. It would be lovely to have celebs who really feel for issues and who really use their celeb power to work for them.
That being said, I think you are really too negatively biased against poor John. Come on now, he really is super cute!
Gaurav
Nov 15th, 2007 at 3:32 am | #
Its a shame. At one end they call themselves moral citizen and on the other side they don’t mind screwing the nation. But I also see this as the NGO’s fault, they shouldn’t associate their causes with celebs just for their name.
cypher
Nov 15th, 2007 at 6:44 am | #
Bwa..ha..ha ! Please stop this silly Bollywood vs Hollywood comparison. No one can or will ever equal Hollywood in Worldwide popularity & capability. Almost all the Top 100 movies are Hollywood productions.
http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide
amethyst
Nov 15th, 2007 at 6:57 am | #
Let us say that I know of somebody who suffered from HIV and felt sorry for that person. I get a chance to do something for these patients. I go ahead with it eventhough I know next to nothing about HIV. Would that make me less sincere in wanting to be of help.
Saakshi O. Juneja
Nov 15th, 2007 at 7:29 am | #
M – That’s the thing na, NGOs use celebs to get the needed attention and celebs in turn use such causes for self publicity. But what happens to the “cause” itself? Just a few media mentions won’t alter situations. People have to be pro-active towards it and above all it needs to come from the heart.
Not taking sides here but – very rarely will you hear in the media about the Bachchans or Salman Khan or Rajnikant or Mithumda and their charity deeds. That’s because they don’t believe in publicizing. And on the other hand we have people like Amisha, John, etc who are only in it for the fame game.
And please how can you even think of placing Amishaben in the same sentence as Jolie, let alone comparing the two.
Melody – Cute, yikkess! You are ruining its definition for me.
Gaurav – Very true, the fault lies at both ends.
Cypher – Now who is comparing movies here? Kindly read the post again.
Amethyst – Agreed, one doesn’t necessarily need to know every inch of the problem when helping others; it’s the “deed” that matters. But by simply attending a press-conference surely these celebrities were not displaying their sincerity. For them it’s as good as doing a guest appearance in a tele-show, which happens to be a norm these days.
Fine, if you don’t know about the issue but you can definitely make an effort – which Amisha and John didn’t. Plus for crying out loud, Amisha is the UN ambassador for the concerned cause, she ought to do more than just look good in front of the camera.
SwB
Nov 15th, 2007 at 3:41 pm | #
… maye we should stop watching their films and making them richer!
Full2njoy
Nov 16th, 2007 at 12:43 am | #
At least Amisha, John dont go around mowing down people under their land cruiser after being drunk. Then pay 1 crore each to the affected families and suddenly the witness turns hostile.
At least they dont go around shooting animals that are declared as protected by the Constitution of India. And then tries to project themselves as innocent.
At least they dont beat up their respective GFs (Somy Ali, Aishwarya etc) and leave them with black eyes and swollen faces.
How come my sweetheart’s blood doesn’t boil then? Does your blood have different boiling points based on your likes and dislikes of people?
Am having a serious doubt now. You seem to me like the PR person of John. Are you on his payroll? You write more on John than Nangu Pangu…oops… Salman Khan.
Next iam waiting for a post from you as to how John Abraham is responsible for the 9-11 attacks, Israel-Palestine problem and global warming.
C’mon Sakshi…one more mindblowing post please… hahaha
amethyst
Nov 16th, 2007 at 12:07 pm | #
Celebrities by endorsing cause build the image and the organization that signed them on as ambassadors get some publicity for the cause they are working on. Tell me again, why it is not a win-win situation?
Amethyst
mujournos
Nov 19th, 2007 at 7:26 am | #
Hey Sakshi,
it has been great reading your blog.
I love the humour and faves sections’ and often read them inbetween copies.
just thought would leave a note!
cheers,
romila
Saakshi O. Juneja
Nov 20th, 2007 at 6:12 am | #
Mujournos – Thanks re.
dylan
Nov 29th, 2007 at 8:16 pm | #
Some organizations who ar respnsible 4 this ar well known for how many actors, sportspersons, singers, famous designers, etcc.. support them. Where are the people behind the organizations, are they just fans of these celebrities thinking tht through their money, will achieve their goals. The media is making it evn worse by being the only public people their to listen to the celebrities messages and they publish it and thats it, the next news will again be on some othr organizations and so on it goes. Wht groups of people in the cities, state, or in the different regions of india does these organizations sacrifice thmsevles for the poor, needy, children w.diseases,etc… So far none of these is being noticed as “we have to do alot more and now” rthr its all just news/media tht feeds the public with, “who cares, as long as my favorite celebrity is being so nice to aam janta, i wish i ws like him/her”