We all know that most often when a celebrity’s name is joined to any social cause the hype always leans towards the celebrity and the cause is barely talked about. Even when a Bollywood celebrity goes out of his way to support a cause he truly believes in, it may still come across as another publicity stunt. In 2004 when the deadliest Sumatran Tsunami affected few parts of South India, young actor Vivek Oberoi stepped forward to support and rehabilitate the tsunami affected people. Instead of simply writing a cheque, or sending relief supplies, he went to the affected areas, going from house to house, handing out supplies and taking hands on approach towards the tsunami relief. However, his effort was short-lived and his sincerity towards the tsunami project was questioned, as his career wasn’t sky rocketing, most media and people thought that this was his way to gain some credibility as a socially responsible celebrity. Around the same time he was dating Bollywood’s most beautiful actress Aishwarya Rai, their relationship was on a downhill and all that the media attention was focused on them. Other irrelevant stories cropped up and Vivek Oberoi was accused of hyping up his charity work in aid of victims to gain positive publicity.
Jayalalitha, the chief minister of disaster-stricken Indian state Tamil Nadu, told the state assembly that she believes Vivek Oberoi had gained "maximum publicity" in return for only a minor contribution to the relief effort. Whether Vivek Oberoi’s efforts were sincere or not towards the tsunami affected people, the media hype around him did help India notice the impact of the tragedy and the cause received acknowledgement and aid from other Indian organizations.
It is ironic how media twists every effort of a celebrity to generate a good news article, however this whole episode was a highlighting factor in Vivek Oberoi’s career and even though the spotlight was on him the awareness about the tragedy did reach out far across India. Other celebrities that become bigger than the cause are Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan whose support for polio has apparently given the project a big boost. Why would a charity boast of a celebrity to support a cause if he is going to be in the spotlight instead of the cause? I reflect that stars add creditability to a cause and in most cases a propaganda supported by a celebrity is bound to make a difference, as of today celebrities have a bigger social responsibility and must give back the love and support that they have won from the masses by working for the cause of society. What do you think?
