Photo Credit: Joey Nicotra
During our entire life since childhood, we have been influenced by Bollywood movies and actors. Whether through mediums like newspapers, magazines or TV channels, we have incorporated Bollywood everywhere in our lives. Listening to Bollywood songs daily at home, dancing on Bollywood songs during Indian weddings and parties, watching Bollywood movies during Friday evenings or on weekends, watching Bollywood Award shows during Diwali or New Year eves; we never realized how deeply we got engrossed in it.
The teenagers and even youths started idolizing the Bollywood stars so much that they seemed perfect for them. They started dressing up like them in colleges, parties or weddings. They started wearing makeup at a young age. They started getting conscious about their looks more than their intelligence. For these people, the unimportant and alternative things became more important and they started ignoring the crucial things of life. For these teenagers under the influence of Bollywood, branded clothes and makeup became more important than books and Indian history. For them, the movie gossiping and fashion became more important than the education and values.
For such a long time, we have let this happen by idolizing the Bollywood actors more than following or admiring a Major or an Army general. However, we are not fully to be blamed here for this situation as we have only witnessed the reel heroes being featured more on our newspapers and TV screens than the real heroes. The influence of media was so intense that it made us believe that the reel heroes are bigger and greater, that they are perfectionist and the messenger of love. We never realized that this perception was created for us intentionally by the PR, by showcasing and making us believe in a fake truth.
Thankfully we have social media which now shows both the sides of a coin! It’s high time that we open our eyes to look around and see the real heroes; the doctors who are serving us during corona, the delivery boys who are providing us food and parcels in these indefinite times, the Army who is keeping us safe during holidays and performing their duties in extreme weather. It’s not too late but a high time to choose our heroes wisely rather than being influenced.