Last month, my Instagram feed was just Jamnagar. As celebs posted their outfits and dance moves and Ambani's stunning pre-wedding footage racked up millions of views online, I did some research (as any good pop culture writer would do). So I decided to take a look at what women themselves were doing in this day and age. , posted by Radhika Merchant. I was amazed (even bigger than when Rihanna danced to “Teri Burton Mein Aisa Urja Jiya”). Radhika Merchant has a private Instagram account with her alpaca profile picture, hundreds of followers, and her profile says “The Office.”
The woman on everyone's screen just wasn't posting anything publicly. She probably never did. The unspoken breakdown is very clear. She doesn't have to.
Illustration credit: Chad Crowe
In a completely different incident, two weeks ago, a paparazzi video of Sara Ali Khan appeared on my feed. The video shows Sarah handing out what appear to be food parcels to poor people, then berating the paparazzi who filmed the scene and asking them to leave them alone. Media literacy (and Reddit analysis) has reached a stage where most of us know that paparazzi are usually called by the celebrity teams themselves, so I thought it was obviously PR. So, while this was likely something she was trying to document on camera as her charity work, it was also a “effortless” charity act. In fact, Sarah seemed to be hinting that she wished there were no cameras.
Both Radhika and Sara's cases are evidence of a theory I've always had about celebrity culture: It's better to be popular without effort and undocumented than to be popular with effort. The idea is that there is an increasing pretense of “no effort'' on the internet because people are always seen as superior. . We've had many years of relatable and relatable celebrities in the public eye, but now we're seeing increased levels of screen fatigue, shortening trend cycles, and visible overexposure online. With harm, people are beginning to realize that being the greatest sign of fame and power. In an always-online world, we need to be offline as much as possible.
Subconsciously, we think that undocumented, quiet greatness is better than documented. Charity done quietly is a noble thing. Charity becomes PR when posted online. This is why Taylor Swift never makes her huge donation public, and instead finds out the news much later through “leaks” and “sources.” This is why we constantly get fluffy articles about the quiet humility of the Marty family. However, the field of “PR” exists because blatant self-promotion is disgusting. That is “effort”. Others promoting you, posting about you, organic news coverage about you, etc. make you cool. But trying to be famous, trying to be seen a certain way, is about as uncool as it gets. Fundamental here are our core notions of who and what it means to be famous.
Consider the movie Animal. The two female leads, Rashmika Mandana and Tripti Dimri, have active Instagram pages with millions of followers, and both regularly post advertisements, promotional posts, glamorous shots, and photos from shoots. I post BTS etc. In contrast, male lead Ranbir Kapoor does not post. I have an Instagram account. India's biggest and most iconic celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan rarely post or have teams to handle overtly branded posts. There's no need for that.
This is not just a Bollywood story. In the business world, many startup founders are starting their own podcasts, posting stories on LinkedIn, writing books, and trying to build their personal brands. On the other hand, most of the Ambanis do not have an Instagram account. To find Isha Ambani's private girlfriend account, I had to follow Anaita Shroff Adajania's posts (14 posts, 3360 followers, 2 following). And while many of India's active cricketers post regularly, do reels, or do random PR stunts about themselves, Dhoni keeps quiet until he hits the big time on the field. Tara is there for a reason.
Traditionally, “celebrity” is a status given to you by society in recognition of your talent or personality. Therefore, it is considered to be something that can be achieved without effort, although it requires a lot of effort. PR, constant self-promotion, stunts, and posts make individuals look insecure, like they haven't actually reached the level of celebrity yet. It's like they're still trying to make it.
This is the same reason why flashy attire like nouveau riche (we call it West Delhi Core on Instagram) has recently been replaced by muted, simple designer pieces. “Quiet luxury” whispers wealth. Because truly secure wealthy people don't need to jingle their coins to prove they have them. Similarly, I coined the term “quiet celebrity” for this other class of fame, when you don't have to try very hard to promote yourself. Work comes to you. Popularity will come to you. easily.
Reclusive celebrities such as Aditya Chopra have always been in the spotlight, but faded into obscurity despite their blockbuster hits, but the advent of the internet has reinvented things. Instead of being camera shy or reclusive, you can be charismatic and visible IRL (like Shah Rukh Khan) but just not perform on social media. This modicum of privacy has been described as a “luxury” by international media outlets such as vox.com and cultural analyst Mina Le, and the distinction draws a line between “influencers” and “celebrities.” It states that it can be used for For example, influencers like Emma Chamberlain quit daily vlogs and became “celebrities” when they had enough business and red carpet invitations. But in India, influencers are still not powerful enough to be put on the same level as celebrities. Therefore, this “quiet celebrity” distinction is rather an indicator of where real power and real wealth lies. Although Bollywood and the business world appear to be laissez-faire democratic systems, in reality very few people are capable of doing so. You can afford to go offline.
Nepo children can't do that. The money may be there, but it still doesn't make sense. B-listers can't do that. Because they need to be in the public eye to stay famous and get jobs. Not even all A-listers can do that. Only the most elite people can actually leave society without any consequences to their income, power, or social status.
And that's the ultimate power move – because this person doesn't need social media. He doesn't need to post to get all the attention or get people to think about him. In a screen-weary, influencer-saturated culture, effortlessly becoming a “silent celebrity” can bring you a new level of fame. Why do they need to exist on the internet when their work and brand is busy being so good and iconic that it speaks for itself?
Disclaimer
The views expressed above are the author's own.
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