Actors are increasingly discarding their exclusive existence to court social media popularity
Being an actor is no more just about acting. It is about staying relevant on social media. The stars need to show us everything.
There was a time when starlets like Urvashi Rautela and Rakhi Sawant provided mild entertainment by constantly posting pictures and comments on everything under the sun. Now the A-list actresses are also doing it too. Whether it is Priyanka, Alia, Rashmika, Janhvi or Ananya, these glamorous women are forever feedings their fans’ frenzied fascination for information about them.
Priyanka posts pictures of her husband Nick and daughter Malti, which are lapped up by millions across the globe. When she gets her American husband to shake a leg to a desi tune, the Internet goes wild.
Even the supposedly ‘private’ stars have come out into the open. Rashmika and Vijay’s so-called private wedding became the social-media gamechanger for star weddings—so much so that another star couple, who had intended to have a ‘private’ nuptial ceremony early next year, has decided to keep things a bit more in the public sphere. “We will be posting images of every ceremony. Fans like that,” the groom-to-be told.
The craze for amplifying superstardom with social-media posts is growing. Alia’s public image is managed by a team of experts, including social-media influencers who tell her what to wear, where to get clicked and how frequently to be seen on social media.
Says Ananya Pandey, “I love connecting with my fans on social media. It doesn’t mean I spend all my time on it. There is a team. Everyone has one, including those who say they’re not on social media.” Even Ajay Devgn, who is very much low-profile, is busy telling fans on Twitter how much he screamed for Indian cricket team during a recent match.
Raveena Tandon is active on social media but cautions about overkill. “Our movies are released once a year mostly. For the rest of the year, my Insta posts are like feeders for the larger picture. But I am discreet about what I put out. Clicking everywhere doesn’t work for me. My followers like to see me with my daughter Rasha. But, I can’t be posting pictures of what we are eating…please!” she says.
Taapsee Pannu, on the other hand, likes to keep her distance from the social media. “It is beyond a point catastrophic to measure your success by the number of likes and followers. I don’t post pictures and check my social media outputs while travelling. That can be very dangerous.”
While Kareena is as popular online as she is in her movies, her husband Saif and her cousin Ranbir Kapoor claim they are not on any social-media platform. Hard to believe! In fact his closest friends confirm he has a secret account online.
Aamir Khan, on the other hand, is that rare Superstar who is not on social media. Says Aamir, “I quit long back. It takes up too much energy. I would rather focus on my work than talk about my day-to-day activities. I don’t know how others do it. I can’t!”
