THE SHORT-LIVED CELEBRITY STATUS

Nowadays, it is so common to see people getting stardom and fame so easily. Sometimes, all it takes is a famous TikTok video, a controversial tweet or a snap with a famous celebrity to become famous. Internet has made the road to fame easier and more accessible through social media and wide-range applications online. Thus, you find so many people from such humble background hogging limelight, like never before. Add to that the multifarious reality shows, the path to stardom has become easily achievable. It is a kind of a rage that runs through internet; it is kind of an easy come, easy go dynamic. There are so many examples of people who have risen from humble backgrounds and have gone on to become widely followed celebrities, either through television or internet medium. The problem lies in the fact that these kinds of people aren’t able to appropriately handle the money and fame that revolves around it.  They have a short-lived status. For instance, a huge number of reality shows take place throughout the year and a number of people emerge winners. But then, the question arises as to what is the way forward for these contestants? On one hand, some of them manage to ink contracts and sign up for upcoming events. On the other, a majority of them are never seen again. They are just lost. This is nothing else but a short-lived celebrity status. Unfortunately, the extreme high and an extreme low thereafter, are major causes of depression among the celebs and in extreme cases, they resort to suicides. We have seen and heard of all this before too, but the rage is just growing. These kind of people also resort to other means of livelihoods and are then reported seen sometimes abandoned. It is quite common among models and other small-screen actors. The fact is that stardom has spread to all the major fields, such as chefs are now known as celebrity chefs, writers are now known as celebrity writers, designers are now known as celebrity designers.  It has penetrated the entire domain of media and other professions also. It is quite common to find religious saints mix their aura with celebrity status and fame. A number of celebrities like Kapil Sharma, Amitabh Bachchan have had fair share of highs and lows, where the former almost lost his head because of all the fame and money, and let to a major fallout, only to be resurrected by the messiah of Bollywood, Salman Khan, who pulled things back for Kapil by producing his comedy show. How many people are able to rise from being just an Indian Idol winner to being one of the most famous singers in the world, Neha Kakkar? Hardly there are any, because the key lies in how you accept the love and adulation from people and handle pots and pots of money. The fact that money spoils one’s brains and makes a person go berserk is not new. How that adulation and celebrity status is accepted goes a long way in shaping of their respective careers. Therefore, we can say that the celebrity status has become extremely short in today’s modern era, unlike before. Everyone you meet nowadays, wants to become a celebrity, and it isn’t an arduous and herculean task anymore. Small town boys and girls are making their headways into fashion, films, OTT platforms and other media platforms, which is definitely a sign of changing winds and is encouraging. But the truth of sustenance remains on an equal footing for everyone. Just imagine people loving you and watching you so closely and then suddenly you’re nowhere seen. How would it feel?