Those who ride the highest horses usually turn out to frequent the lowest gutters. And on more than one occasion, it seems celebrities and their hypocrisy go hand-in-hand, even though they may hate being called out for their two-facedness.
Unless you were living under a rock, film aficionados would have read about how famous Telugu television anchor Pradeep Macharaju was caught by the Hyderabad police for drunk driving on New Year’s Eve. What makes the incident all the more ironic is the fact that Pradeep had recently released a video on social media cautioning people not to drink and drive. And the list is quite long! The prize for the most shocking headline in the New Year goes to the famous Telugu singer Ghazal Srinivas. He might have penned and crooned several numbers on women empowerment, but he was sent to judicial remand after being reported by a woman in a sexual harassment case!
Are we progressing or regressing as a society? Commenting on this behavioral pattern, Dr G. Shiva Kumar, Clinical Psychologist says that we only look at one side of a personality. “Many of us don’t know about the other side of the person, so we generally believe in what we see unless or until there’s a conflicting scenario. Celebrity preaching is alright, but people don’t know the inner side of the celebrity. They should therefore be cautious before taking a stand. Moreover, celebrities should also be careful when it comes to public behaviour since they are constantly under the scanner,” he says.
In another bizarre incident, police officers went into a tizzy after IPS trainee officer Safeer Karim was arrested by the Intelligence Bureau sleuths for cheating in the UPSC (Main) Examination. His wife, who was helping him out with the answers through a bluetooth-enabled earpiece, was also arrested in Hyderabad. Amusingly, Safeer scored the highest marks in the Morals and Ethics paper!
Rachakonda police commissioner and IPS officer Mahesh Bhagwat says that black sheep exist everywhere. “There are rules, dos and don’ts, and codes of conduct in all organisations. There are black sheep too, but we should not generalise it. We give training at various levels and in different forms like soft skills, moral science, etc., but it’s up to the individual to behave well. Since he/she is in a responsible position and has to set an example, they need to be even more careful,” says the IPS officer. So is there any scope for damage control in such damning situations? Image management expert and psychologist Kaushik Pai says that his job is to ensure that the reputation of the ‘victim’ is not further tarnished. “Even celebs are humans, so sometimes they get carried away and lose consciousness. But we have an unconditional regard no matter who comes to us. If the incident is really personal, and their morale is low, we ask the victim to take up some therapies. But their support system (family) is crucial for the road to recovery,” says Kaushik.
