Those who maintain high profile are subjected to extra attention and needless vilification. Telugu people have been watching the futile clash between the families of megastar Chiranjeevi and his bête noire Mohan Babu before, during and after elections for the office bearers of MAA (Movie Artists Association). The ugly question of locals vs. outsiders had come to the fore thanks to the prominent presence of Karnatak born Prakash Raj.
The separation of Tollywood couple Nagachaitanya and Samantha also received more publicity than warranted because both of them happen to be celebrities. If one of them was an ordinary person, the publicity would have been much lower. Even if the two persons had got reconciled to the fact that they cannot live together any more, the fans find it hard to swallow it.
People of the country have been watching the travails of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan in the name of controlling drugs consumption and distribution. A case where a huge quantity of drugs worth a billion dollars (seizure of 2,988 kg of heroin at Mundra Port located in Kutch district of Gujarat) was caught is being buried without much ado, the case of Aryan Khan has been going on like a daily serial. The young Khan has been in jail for weeks even though not a milligram of drug was found on him. The tests confirmed that he did not consume drugs on that day. He is paying the price because he happens to be the son of a superstar.
As against this background, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar who is fighting a label case himself against Bollywood star Kangana Rawat, observed that Hindi film industry is under the scanner because of its “high profile” nature and it is the “price” it has to pay. He was answering a question if the Bollywood is being routinely targeted with raids. His answer was, “When you are high profile, people have fun pulling you down, throwing muck at you. If you are a nobody, then who has the time to throw stones at you?”
Javed Akhtar was speaking at the launch of the book “Changemakers,” written by Almas Virani and Sweta Samota. “You find cocaine worth one billion dollars but no headlines are seen regarding the seizure but there is banner item every day about the case in which there are 1,200 people where ganja and a total sum of Rs. 1.30 lakh were found,” the lyricist remarked. Akhtar refused to answer a question if Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan are being deliberately targeted. In fact, he answered the question before it was asked.
