Celeblogs
Gossipmongers are not the only ones blogging. The subjects of gossipers' gossips are also publishing their own gossip online. Writing a blog is in vogue among the nation's who's who these days.
Aamir Khan started blogging a year ago and started with throwing light on some of film making processes, apart from his views on some other things, including his caretaker's pet's royal nomenclature. A much lesser known blog was started by the non-smoker Anurag Kashyap almost a year before Aamir, expressing his passion for cinema, especially his own cinema taking eight years. Amitabh Bachchan joined some two months ago, and has been à la angry-young-man hitting back anyone who says and has said anything against him or his family, including defending L'Oreal's work on his daughter-in-law's Cannes dressing. Ok, ashes was impressed with his writing some time back and had expressed that on his own blog, but now yeh to too much ho gaya yaar.
Next came the aag-baboola Ram Gopal Verma who started up giving dimwitted, (I am sure he believes otherwise) reactions to reactions on anything even remotely related to his movies, and even persuaded the newest and the prettiest member of the Bachchan clan to do the same for him. Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was already popular on the web owing to dating site LalooRabri.com, about which the minister had innocently quipped, "Dating maane to?", has now started real politician-style with his blogposts both in Hindi and English, and for the uninitiated, even with an audio podcast.
Shahrukh Khan wrote his first blogpost on his Knight Riders website. I am glad his was strictly business and not about his dog or someone else's dog for that matter. Karan Johar was late in the bandwagon since he couldn't come up with something and had to think for days of what to write in his first post. Thankfully he is not as prolific as the big B; hearing his voice repeatedly in the mind while reading his posts would have made many a young men desert their women.
Mandira Bedi has announced she'll start soon. Let's hope its not about cricket. We've transparently seen too much of it. There are a few more inconspicuous TV actors who've got bored of the Saas-Bahu saga and have found real-life soaps more interesting.
But what brings these celebrities to the keyboard? "Getting close to fans" is the standard reason quoted. Eliminating the middlemen who manipulate the truth is another. Venting out frustration on failures is one of my guesses. Making a fashion statement, fanmail being blocked by secretaries/wives/girlfriends can be other reasons. Joblessness can be an important trigger too, like it is for yours truly.
As with many other things, celebrity-bragging has been prevalent in the First World countries much before than it arrived in India. Bruce Willis, Donald Trump, Jackie Chan, Paris Hilton, Anna Kournikova, Victoria Beckham are a few well-knowns publishing out directly to fans. Here is a list of such celebrities and their blogs, but beware before you look out and click at the eighth item on the list, it is tempting but would lead to disappointment.
But using mute, poor animals against colleagues they call brethren? Ranting out loud? Chronicling one's daily schedule? Discussing sexual preferences? Reality sells you'd opine, but we already have an overdose of it all around us. Yeah, something on the lines of Truman Show would still be welcome, unless Truman Burbank is a tall old man with a white French beard sitting on an Italian commode with a Macbook precariously balanced on his knees typing a blog with single finger.
