• Do you want to become famous?
Thank you for your pretty question. Well, it is not easy for me to explain whether I want to be a famous person or not but I definitely want that people should know about me. I have a good number of worst experiences and if I were a celebrity, I mustn’t have to experience those. I am a painter by profession and would like that, people would know about me and my paintings. Basically, I love to paint landscapes and thus have travelled in different parts of the words only to get the right locations for my painting. During the trips, I had to communicate with the people and tell them about my aim so that they could help me in different aspects as I was in distant places from my native land. If I were a famous individual, then they would have come to help me by themselves and even I did not need to seek their help. Besides, I also had to experience some negative effects in immigration (I don’t want to mention the state names where I was neglected as a painter), and the authorities made delay to allow me entering the countries. But imagine if I were a celebrity who is admired across the globe, certainly I would not have to suffer such consequences. Legal barriers would have been easier for me to cross. Besides, I would have gained much wealth as well. But I think I do not need the celebrity status rather people should know about me and respect me from the core of their heart. It will inspire me to paint more attractive and real-life paintings.
• How to become a well-known person in your country?
Hmmm, it is not easy to be a famous person in India. The first thing is that you should have some political connections like you should be related to some political leaders or you can also involve yourself in politics if you want the name and the fame. Besides, mass media plays an important role in making someone famous or replacing him/ her with someone else. If you can be a media personality, it becomes easier for you to be famous. But if you want to be a famous person and lack the aforesaid ways, I have another idea – you can enroll yourself in any reality show. A wide number of reality shows are available in the country and their rating is higher. Many of the people watch those reality shows and you can enroll yourself after your choice. When the show will be aired on air, people across the country will watch you on television. This is a way to get popularity and I can name many of the ordinary people who have become famous with the reality shows. But, if you truly want to be a well-known person, I will suggest you to work hard whatever you are up to. Without a hard work, you do not own a chance to stand. Gradually your chance will sharpen your skills and you will be a renowned one.
• What kind of people can become famous in your country?
Well, fame is not a cheap thing to pursue. Everybody cannot be famous. In India, there are a large number of people who are famous across the world ranging from Subhas Chandra Bose to Bollywood superstar and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. They have become famous for their talents, skills and efforts. They are renowned by their name and do not need any other special titles or linkages to be exposed to people. They have become famous for their sincere efforts. They, in fact, did not do anything to be famous rather it is their devotion to the work which has elevated them to the level of the celebrity. So, people who have struggled in the beginning of their career or life and continued the struggle for a certain age, they have become well-known. They may not look similar or may not own the similar qualities but one thing is common among them. All of them have struggled in the beginning. I think you are informed about the issue of Indian independence. That did not come overnight and the leaders had to struggle for long. As a result, they achieved the independence and by the same time, the people who had advanced roles became famous across the country and in the world by the same time. Industry is termed as the key to success but I think it is also the key to be famous in my country.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of being famous?
Well, everything in the world has two sides – advantageous and disadvantageous. If I consider the advantages of being a famous person, the list will be longer. But if I consider the disadvantages, the list won’t be smaller either. When a famous person moves from places, s/ he receives warm receptions. Often they are invited to the top class parties or at events. Their presences appear to add some extra splendour to the events. They are admired by all at the functions and thus they get some chances to socialise. Using their name and fame they also can earn wealth which is a necessary thing to live on this planet. This is a practical issue. But the negative consequences are also important to remember. If you are a celebrity or famous, you might be feeling uneasy when you are on the street. When you walk through the street, people will gaze at you like you are an alien. Some may try to touch you, talk with you while some intelligent people will try to take a photograph with you. In the beginning, you may have some good feelings but when it will be a regular phenomenon on the streets, you will be fading away with your fame. You cannot do any public work or join at any public programs. Security will be another important issue for you. You need to have proper security arrangement to handle the crowds. If you are in the market to have some stuff, the shopkeepers may charge more than the regular price for your name and fame. You are in a restaurant to satisfy your hunger and people are noticing each of your movements. You cannot take even your meal peacefully out of your home. These are the disadvantages of being famous.
• What do you think of the privacy of a well-known person?
In fact, the well-known persons have no privacy or private life. Each of the events may be exposed to the public. You cannot be surrounded by four walls all the times and thus you need to be out of your home. If you are a politically well-known person and make the slightest mistake, the media will expose the issue which may have disastrous impacts on your personal life. The media often tries to publish some untrue facts aiming to increase their circulation. As a result, the privacy of the well-known person is destroyed. I think, this is not fair actually and they should be allowed to have some private life. When they are exposed to media with some private events it is not a problem at all. The issue is that the exposure is made negative which creates disastrous impacts on them. Often we hear about the media scandals and try to believe that before justifying them. It should not be done and this unethical. Everyone must have their own private business and it should be made easier so that they could enjoy their privacy. They have become famous for their hard efforts and if we do not allow some private spaces for them, it would be wrong for us. Peeping on their window will not be considered as part of decency and the media should give up such silly activities.
• What do you think of the relationship between a well-known person and advertising?
Advertising is the most important way to publicise a product or service. Generally, the common people are eager to know about the private life of the well-known persons or celebrities. Most of the time they try to copy the well-known figures and the multinational companies and corporations take this chance. They hire the celebrities to advertise their products. The well-known persons advertise the products even sometimes being unaware of the product features. The advertisement scripts are written attractively so that the common people could be attracted and the performance of the celebrities, on the advertisement, does the remaining. For instance, Lux is a beautifying soap and different female celebrities advertise for it. The people who are exposed to the advertisement will think that the celebrity is using the soap and why should not they have a try? So, they get the soaps and the producing authority makes the profit with a small investment in the advertisement. I think the relationship between a well-known person and advertisement is clear. The positive image of the well-known person is sold to advertise any product irrespective of quality. But the people who are participating in the advertisements should collect proper information about the product. Unfortunately, if the products are made with below standard materials, they will lose their credibility.
• Would you be influenced by the well-known persons in TV commercials?
If you want to know about my opinion, it is difficult to influence me with the television commercials. I try to justify a product before getting that from any superstore or local markets. Most of the time, I try to find out the quality and quantity instead of being influenced by the TV commercials. In the beginning, I was cheated on many times. I watched the advertisements and went to the stores to get the products. But I did not find the products were made with quality materials or sometimes they were less in quantity. You will laugh at my logic, if a celebrity could be fair using any specific brand soap or fairness cream then there would be not black-coloured people in the world. In fact, the fairness cream or the other cosmetic products cannot make people fair and the complexion has nothing to do with humanity or skills and expertise. After realising the fact, I have given up to be influenced by the advertisement. I always follow my own rules and principals. Before getting any product or service for me, firstly I try to find out the producer and seek their reputation. But sometimes I have to rely on the advertisements as there are no ways to find out of the producer and I took that as an experiment for me.
• Do you often talk about singers with your friends? What do you often talk about?
Oh, yes! I often talk about singers with my buddies in informal gatherings. We all love songs and especially I love listening songs when I paint and mostly prefer the instrumental music. But the discussion topics are nothing special. Often we talk about the private life of the singers and how much they take for their performances. Sometimes, we plan to meet any reputed singer and then cancel the plan with the thought it is nothing special for us. Besides, we also discuss the new release of the singers and how they are popular in the market and such other similar issues. Moreover, planning to attend an upcoming show is the part of our discussion and accordingly, we contribute getting the tickets.
