Celebs and Issues
Besides being acclaimed actors, what is common between Amitabh Bachchan, Richard Gere, Amir Khan and Angelina Jolie? Its their support for social issues in various parts of the world. While Angelina and Richard have lent their support to more international causes (human rights and AIDS awareness respectively) AB senior and Aamir lent their voice for polio awareness drive in India and the Narmada Bachao Andolan respectively. But, are these celebs supporting social causes any better than having the average low profile social activist fight it out on the streets?
I think having a celeb involved with a social cause works. As a matter of fact, I think that it works for both the celeb and the cause. It works for the cause as the news hungry media follows the celebs wherever they go, even to places where they would not have gone otherwise. This results in a lot of visibility for the issue at hand. I think that having celebs is the best way for getting the masses involved in social activists. Most people may never spare a thought for street children. But the moment they see pics of Salman Khan at an orphanage, visiting orphanages is something that they wanna do too.
Sanjay Dutt got a whole nation to recognise principles of the Mahatma Gandhi by his latest flick. And all of a sudden every second guy in town is talking about non-violence and Gandhigiri is cool now. How many of us were aware of the details of Narmada Bachao Andolan till Amir Khan came along. Wouldn't you willingly attend a music concert of your favourite stars even if you knew that they would drum in doses of AIDS awareness in between performances? Glamour is an essential part of every celeb and it sells for sure. So why not just use it for a good cause?
I think having a celeb involved with a social cause works. As a matter of fact, I think that it works for both the celeb and the cause. It works for the cause as the news hungry media follows the celebs wherever they go, even to places where they would not have gone otherwise. This results in a lot of visibility for the issue at hand. I think that having celebs is the best way for getting the masses involved in social activists. Most people may never spare a thought for street children. But the moment they see pics of Salman Khan at an orphanage, visiting orphanages is something that they wanna do too.
Sanjay Dutt got a whole nation to recognise principles of the Mahatma Gandhi by his latest flick. And all of a sudden every second guy in town is talking about non-violence and Gandhigiri is cool now. How many of us were aware of the details of Narmada Bachao Andolan till Amir Khan came along. Wouldn't you willingly attend a music concert of your favourite stars even if you knew that they would drum in doses of AIDS awareness in between performances? Glamour is an essential part of every celeb and it sells for sure. So why not just use it for a good cause?
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