MEDIA

Are famous people treated unfairly by the media? Should they be given more privacy, or is the price of their fame an invasion into their private lives?

“Names does matter ,image does yield money and money is business. The thickness of a wallet depends on how big the owner of the wallet is” .Media ,has been contributing to the society ,in terms of ‘news’ happening in and around us ,in order to keep the public informed. On one hand,the media imparts knowledge for the good ,on the other hand it is also the reason for straining the social lives of “famous”.Their private lives are often route to higher TRPs for various ‘media scions’.Their lives are potrayed ‘inside out’,for public scrutiny and criticism.Along with one’s fame comes the extra ‘unnecessary limelight and glare’.Often it has been that the invasion of their private lives,has led to severe mental breakdowns among famous celebrities. According to me,Media should limit its activities only to the ‘public life’ of the famous ,instead of bringing forth the ‘private brawls’ to public. Any negative act brought out in the public, may lead to controversies. I believe ,like us ,the famous too are flesh and blood  and rising to the high social status ,doesnot give Media rights to divulge about their private life. It is unfair that the media scions ,in their competitive spirit ,fail to respect privacy.

Examples of activities brought under spotlight:

The case of Sunanda Pushkar and Shashi Tharoor,Indian Ministry has recently caused a buzz in media. Pushkar born as Sunanda Das(1962), in the family of Kashmiri Pandits;married Tharoor on October 2010. It was the third marriage for both of them, and Sunanda started getting media attention in India.
In 2010 , the company she represented, bid for IPL Cricket team Kochi Tuskers ,Kerala. There were allegations that Tharoor misused his ministerial position for a ‘freestake’ in the company. However, as fate would have it,  Sunanda exposed Tharoor’s relationship with Pakistani journalist Mehr Tarar. Their private interaction was exposed on social networking site twitter, bringing in ‘media attention’. This led to the suspicious death of  Pushkar on 17^th January at Leelawati Palace, NewDelhi. While the minister denied any ‘foul play’ ,there are allegations of Sunanda being murdered brutally.

Two women seem to have dominated the headlines, the other being Valerie Trierweiler, the former First Lady of France. While their stories played miles apart, the parallels drawn between the two had been apparent. Sunanda and Valerie found their private lives unravelling in a spectacularly public fashion around the same time. Both resented as being presented as ‘arm candies’ of their powerful husbands. Ironically, despite their best effort to stand out as individuals ;they received fame due to their husbands. What lessons can we draw from the lives of these two women ,who lived,loved and rose and then fell dramatically in the public gaze. Certainly media worked its way , affecting their public and private life.

The king of Bollywood, Sharukh Khan has been listed as a ‘successful and powerful’ Indian by Forbes magazine. His popularity has dragged billions of customers for his company. However, he too wasn’t spared from the “glare” of media. With a lifetime ban on entering Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, he upset the cricket officials, and his fans, due to his alleged drunken brawl at the stadium. His personal life having a marital discord with wife Gauri Khan ,was also reported by media-scandal had never been so delicious. Khan’s image as a committed husband was brought into question, after he was linked with a co-star.

Such is the effect of media ,that nobody is spared from its grip.  With fame and money comes these troubles too. The need to maintain a clean social image is difficult at the time when ‘media’ intervenes. However, since every field has its pros and cons, similarily the positive effects of media, neutralise its negativities. Apart from the scandalous gossips, it is media that brings to the audience,news from every ‘nook’ of the world. Without this booming industry, life would have been perhaps dull and boring. Life of a media person is exciting and risky, facing famines, wars and social problems, to keep the audience updated.