When actors Disha Patani and Tiger Shroff happily posted photos of their Maldives vacation, they were not prepared for the volley of criticism. Several other Bollywood actors were trolled for holidaying abroad when the country was fighting Covid. They were called out by other actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Annu Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi who slammed the vacationing celebs for posting photos. While the country is going through its worst health crisis, social media is abuzz with photos of celebs gyming and going on beach holidays. It’s not that celebrities are not doing their bit in the pandemic times. But, the public is quick to question the jet-setters and point fingers at the holidaying actors for not being “responsible”.
The question is: Is celeb credibility under fire?
Understanding opinions
The most celebrities can do to empathise with those suffering is refrain from going public about their fun activities. “Actors may lose credibility as they feature on campaigns, encouraging people to stay home, but they themselves fly out for holidays. They can hold back from posting photos for a while,” says Greeshma Thampi, image consultant and director, Avance Image Management.
She echoes Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s thoughts and backs celebs such as actor Amit Sadh for taking a break from posting photos. “It is great to see celebs like Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas start a fundraiser. Sporting events like IPL are an escape route from reality. However, fans expect the cricketers and BCCI to understand the situation and do their bit,” says Thampi.
“If cricketers and sponsors do their bit during the pandemic, they will come across as responsible citizens. I have also come across nasty comments from people on photos of celebrities. This is unfair. All of us can contribute or do our bit in this situation,” she adds.
Stand-up comedian Aditi Mittal says people feel angry that the very celebrities they idolised have let them down. “Because the public has cried, laughed and celebrated with the celebrities, there is mostly a false sense of closeness. As the country suffers, the public expects the influential to feel with them,” says Mittal. “A part of it is also the nature of social media where it is easier to be nasty in anonymity,” she says.
Actor and filmmaker Ananth Mahadevan sees two sides of this. “It’s sheer force of habit. The celebrities’ PR team is used to working overtime for the press and online. Since work has stopped these days, the fear of ‘out-of-sight, out-of-mind’ gets the better of them, resulting in frivolous posts,” he says. “Second, the public whiplash is influenced by the dystopian times we live in. They are upset at the ways adopted to jostle for eyeballs. They find the philanthropic activities a PR exercise. The art of humility is obviously lost amongst the celebs,” Mahadevan adds.
All is forgotten easily
More often than not, the public forgives and forgets easily. They flock to watch films of the same actors they bad-mouthed on social media. Mittal calls India’s public-celeb bond complicated. “The personas created and curated by the celebs themselves are larger than life — they become symbolic. They know they need the public as much as the public needs them. In a market of 1.3 billion people — even if a hundred thousand are upset, there are still too many people who will watch the actor’s film.”
Mahadevan says the public knows that nothing will dent the ego of the stars. “The next big-ticket film will see crowds flocking to the cinemas to watch these very names. Basically, we are a society of hypocrites.”
The common man feels a lot of negative emotions towards what’s happening, about how the government is allowing this to happen, says Priyanka Varma, clinical psychologist, counsellor and psychotherapist and founder, The Thought Co. “But are they feeling angry towards a celebrity going to their farmhouse to vacation or to work? I don’t know. But, they’re angry that the government has not made the necessary measures to support it,” she says.
She finds this celeb blaming superficial. “For the upper middle or middle class, IPL, shows and content these celebrities are producing does help in creating some minutes or hours of escapism and giving them some positive emotions that help build resilience.”
Be empathetic
Celebs can read the room and be empathetic. That’s the most the public expects from them. According to Mittal, celebs can speak to the brand managers and postpone posting photos. “Or even a simple acknowledgement — ‘I know things are bad, but I’m posting these for you to take your mind off and entertain you a bit’ — is something that would be applauded.”
Thampi suggests celebs use their influence to talk about Covid. “More importantly, walk the talk. Followers should avoid spreading more negativity.”
The reactions, emotional or otherwise, are momentary, Mahadevan says. “We learn lessons the hard way or rather pretend to. Once the storm passes, we are back to our usual ostrich attitude. So, if there is a lesson in all this, it is quite lost on the celeb or the common man,” he adds.
The other side
Social media is a double-edged sword—there are negatives as there are positives. For the past few weeks, several celebrities have come forward to do their bit and help those affected by Covid. Priyanka Chopra, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Bhumi Pednekar, Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli and many more — the list is exhaustive — have announced fundraisers, building of makeshift hospitals, donation of monthly ration, etc. Many are using social media to amplify their support by putting out informative videos and literature on Covid. It’s also somewhat unfair to say that the celebs are sitting at their home with rose tinted glasses on.
