While the job of celebrities is to entertain, given the obscene amount of wealth they accumulate in a world marred with economic inequality, people expect them to use their vast resources and clout to draw attention to and come to the aid of the less fortunate. Indeed, some on social media have criticized Pakistani celebrities for asking others to donate instead of leading by example. Additionally, there is a moral concern about Pakistani celebrities enjoying business class flights to pomp and show in an advanced economy, while millions of their fellow citizens suffer the consequences of their carbon footprint. This is like someone making a media spectacle through lavish consumption when their co-workers are being laid off during a recession.
In contrast, Hollywood celebrities understand that with great wealth and fame comes great responsibility. Angelina Jolie is in Pakistan, dressed humbly and mingling with the poor people in a way that is reminiscent of the late Princess Diana. Even Poorna Jagannathan, an American actress of Indian descent, who plays Dr. Nalini Vishwakumar in the popular Netflix series, Never Have I Ever, and whose dialogue on PM Modi was critiqued, has asked her fans to donate for flood relief efforts in Pakistan. But if our own celebrities won’t aid with their presence and efforts and instead wallow in self-centredness despite the grim situation then it speaks volumes of their moral bankruptcy.
Some might say that the celebrities have gone to collect funds for flood relief but that comes across as an afterthought or a PR damage control tactic instead of a well thought out plan to aid the millions of Pakistani people suffering due to the flood on top of an economic and political crisis. In this regard, former PM Imran Khan also strikes as a self-centred individual who places his own ambition over the nation. In contrast is Dr. Shashi Tharoor, who despite being a staunch critic of the ruling BJP party remains clear that when it comes to foreign policy, there is no BJP or Congress but only a unified Indian policy. Pity that Imran Khan would rather let his country go to the edge of a precipice than unite the people of Pakistan.
Celebrities face pressures to remain relevant, good looking, and physically fit. In doing so, some end up looking for validation from their social media cult than find it within themselves. In religious language, this would be viewed as a form of idolatry where one becomes obsessed with fortune, fame, and looks instead of remaining grounded as a humble human being. Such a need for validation emerges from a place of insecurity and perhaps a deep-rooted inferiority complex that no amount of shirtless or pouty faced selfies can ever remedy.
It is the same inferiority complex that mars those who have become newly rich but who chase eternal validation by putting others down. The behaviour of BJP supporters who flood Pakistani social media downplaying Pakistan as “bhikaristan”, indulging in racist caricatures of Muslims and Islam, showcasing their obsession with coitus and filthy language, despite India emerging as the 5th largest economy, makes for an interesting case study in the phenomenon of nau-daulatiya (nouveau riche).
Additionally, such people remain eternal victims, as they continue to harp on the long dead Mughal and Muslim warriors and the ancient Mauryan Empires, much like their Muslim counterparts who harp on musalmano ka tabnak maazi (the illustrious past of Muslims). Such people when critiqued on their human rights violations engage in perpetual whataboutism. The recent social media responses of the Hindutva brigade on Leicester reveals that very whataboutism and victimhood, much like those Muslims who deflect attention from their own shortcomings.
This leads us back to Pakistani celebrities who too become chafed when critiqued on their shallow and morally bankrupt behaviour in a time when their fellow citizens are afflicted by the flood and economic privations. Not much can be expected from them. One can forget that they would use their immense social capital to highlight the plight of Ahmadis, where the latest case is that of four students expelled from a school for their faith. And if such self-centred celebrities are criticized by the people of Pakistan for their antics, then they presumably deserve it.