PUBLIC FIGURE, NOT PUBLIC COMMODITY

A mishap-hit Neha Dhupia was hassled for selfies, not helped. What explains this?

Acelebrity is admired by millions; but there’s another side to fame and that’s ugly. A recent incident proves it. Bollywood actor Neha Dhupia (right), who was in a car accident in Chandigarh recently, was shocked by what followed: onlookers and passersby, instead of coming to her rescue, hounded her for selfies and autographs! This recalls countless such instances where celebrities weren’t seen as normal human beings.

When we contacted Neha, she said, “I am really not in a state to talk because of the pain. Please contact my team.” However, in a recent interview, reacting to this fan craze of clicking selfies, Neha told us, “I think it’s a newfound obsession that people have — just keeping up with things to put on social media. And then they want to put themselves up with people who have some sort of a name; it increases their social media worth.”

Several celebrities concur that people expect a ‘celebrity’ to behave as one even when they’re in a vulnerable and /or tragic situation. Actor Swara Bhaskar says, “We live in the times of such insensitivity that when there’s something untoward happening in front of our eyes, we don’t try to stop it — instead, we stoop to voyeurism and start taking photos and videos.”

Actor Taapsee Pannu says that celebrities should be treated as “public figures” and not “public commodities”.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan had earlier tweeted about an incident, in which people at the cremation of his friend had no respect for the dead; they were more interested in taking selfies with him.

Film director Hansal Mehta says, “Selfies are a part of a disease created by our relationship with our devices. My only hope is that people stop looking at their phones and start looking at [other] people more humanely.”

This callousness is now a cultural affliction! So I’m really not surprised, though I’m very sorry for Neha! SWARA BHASKAR, ACTOR Coming up and waking us up at 4am on a flight isn’t humane. After our working hours, we are normal human beings, too! TAAPSEE PANNU, ACTOR

PHOTO: SHIVAM SAXENA/HT