Smoking hero
An interesting letter on Shahrukh Khan was published in DS on August 21. The writer criticised a scene from the recently released trailer of Shahrukh's upcoming movie 'Don' where we see him smoking in a conspicuously stylish manner. I agree with the view that certain acts of celebrities influence their adulators who are ever eager to emulate their heroes. Nevertheless, here one should understand that every actor is professionally obliged to act in accordance with the characteristics of the role that he plays in a particular movie. Actors are supposed to do whatever their roles and scripts demand of them. In the movie Shahrukh plays the role of an infamous terrorist (Don). If the Don chewed chocolates instead of smoking and drank milk instead of drinking alcohol then the whole movie would turn into a mockery. The actor and the moviemaker endeavoured to make the character as convincing as possible. Perhaps, the director thought that the smoking scene would make the character even more charismatic. Perhaps, those 'emanating smokes' represent the enigma related to the character, suggesting that he is a mysterious man hidden behind the curtain of foggy smokes.
Celebrities should be aware of the fact that their idiosyncrasies can affect the society. Similarly, it's the responsibility of their admirers to avoid emulating anything unpleasant in real life, which their favourite stars do in fictitious movies. For example, if Tom Cruise kills a person in a movie that doesn't anyhow mean that his fans should try to imitate him by slaughtering someone. We admire actors for their performance skills. Handling of diverse roles convincingly makes them even more powerful to us. Interestingly, celebrities often show reluctance to take up the responsibility of social reformers or pedagogues. Instead, they claim themselves to be the providers of authentic entertainment.
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