India's Obsession with Star Kids

Read these headlines once. 'New photos of Jhanvi Kapoor and his friends from their vacation in Maldives. ' 'Suhana Khan is following her legacy like her father Shahrukh Khan. ' 'Sonakshi Sinha's father and brother are not happy with her marriage. ' Our country is obsessed with star kids. Not just those who work in the movie industry, but also those who are not working in the movie industry. Be it Ibrahim Khan's dating life, ". . . people are shocked to see Palak Tiwari outside Ibrahim's house. " or Aamir Khan's daughter's marriage,  the entire country is dying to peep into their lives. But why? Why do we need to know about Ibrahim Ali Khan's dating life? 

The Paradox of Nepotism and Star Kid Obsession

On one hand, we complain about nepotism. On the other hand, we are so obsessed with star kids. Why is that? First, we need to understand that there is a huge obsession of celebrities and film stars in our country. Dr. Itisha Nagar, who is a psychologist and assistant professor, said that this is opium for our people. I talked about this obsession in a recent video where I said that a para-social relationship develops between fans and actors. In simple words, a para-social relationship is a one-sided relationship between a celebrity and a fan. When an actor plays a character in a movie, for many fans, he is not just a character, but a human being. So after the movie, the actor leaves his character, but the fan's relationship with the character has just begun. This happens especially with people who don't have a good psychological well-being. Sharanaya Bhattacharya talked about this in her book, Desperately Seeking Shahrukh Khan. She talked to many women who said that when something bad happens in their life, they start watching Shahrukh Khan's movies. For such people, watching Shahrukh Khan's movies is a way of escapism, which helps them forget their problems in life. Many fans get so emotionally invested with celebrities, when a celebrity doesn't even know them. And this obsession is not just about movies, but also about their lives. How they dress, what they eat, who they live with. Our obsession with Bollywood stars is extended when we get obsessed with the lives of star kids. And these people are so rich that their lives are just a dream for many of us. Because of this, we become desperate to know about their lives.

Voyeuristic Pleasure in Observing Star Kid Lives

Dr. Itesha Nagar said that when we look at the lives of star kids, we get voyeuristic pleasure. Voyeurism has a sexual meaning. It's when someone gets sexual pleasure by looking at another person. Many B-grade directors used this in their movies. Kanti Shah, a famous B-grade director, used the keyhole technique where many sexual scenes were shown through keyholes. He was trying to target the audience who get voyeuristic pleasure from such movies. But it's not necessary that voyeurism involves sexual activity. We just want to see how the lives of star kids are. This is also a type of voyeurism. This voyeurism explains why people love watching Big Boss. This is why after IPL; Big Boss was the second most watched show on Jio Cinema.

The Phenomenon of Hate Following Star Kids

But this obsession is also very strange. On one hand, we hate star kids and on the other hand, we want to know about them. There's a term for this on social media. Hate following. It means you're following people whom you hate. In India, there's not much research on hate following. But it's been done in America. In America, a teenager was asked why she follows a celebrity when she hates him. The girl said, I'm insecure about myself and I like making fun of perfect-looking celebrities. Psychologist Lily Sabir said that hate following happens among people who have low self-confidence. To improve self-confidence, you have to bring changes in your life which is difficult and takes time. It's an easy solution to spit on other people's lives. Almost all of us do this hate following. So next time you see a post on Reddit against a celebrity, notice how many posts are about hate following.

Jealousy as a Driving Force Behind Hate Following

A major reason behind star kids' hate following is jealousy. Yes, jealousy! Many of us are jealous because they're famous and they have money. Just because they were born into a rich family. They won the lottery of life. Yashasvi Jaiswal, an Indian cricketer, was recently asked in an interview how he can score well. Yashasvi said, in India, you have to fight for everything. You have to fight to get into a bus. You have to fight to get on the train. You have to fight to decide the charges with the auto driver. For most Indians, their life is a tournament. To achieve anything, they have to fight with many people and only then do they get something. But these star kids' lives were very different. They got many privileges that other people couldn't get. People start following star kids out of curiosity. They want to know about their lives. But this jealousy turns into hate when people have low self-confidence. When they realize that many celebrities don't even know about their privileges. This simply means that if a star kid works 12 hours a day, she can be rewarded for starring in a Karan Johar movie. But if an unknown person puts in the same amount of effort, he will be rewarded with being a background dancer if he's lucky.

Privilege and Access: The Case of Harshvardhan Kapoor

Let's take the example of Harshvardhan Kapoor who is the son of Anil Kapoor. He was launched in Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra's Mirzya movie. But how did he get this role? Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra spotted Harshvardhan Kapoor on the sets of Delhi 6. The movie was by Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra starring Harshvardhan Kapoor's sister, Sonam Kapoor. So a struggling actor who lives in a small apartment in Mumbai with 6 other people won't be found sitting in a movie set. So it was Harshvardhan Kapoor's privilege that he got so much access from a director. Because of this, he got his first role. Because of this curiosity, jealousy, and hate, it's not easy to unfollow a rich and famous person. To satisfy the hunger of this audience, a huge empire has come up. The empire of paparazzi. This is Viral Bhayani's Instagram account which has 9. 3 million followers.

The Reign of Star Kids on Paparazzi Accounts

Whether it's Alia and Ranbir's daughter's paparazzi debut, or Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas' appearance with their daughter in a temple. If you want an update on any star kid of the industry, you can get all that from this Instagram account. This isn't just done by Instagram accounts, but also by online news publications. This is why many online news publications publish articles about these star kids. A digital marketing manager of an online media website explained why they print such news. He said it's a simple game of demand and supply. People want to see the photos of stars and their children. The news stories that cover them have a lot of reach and a loyal viewership that they don't get from other stories. He says, if we don't do it, some other news website will do it. Why shouldn't we do it? We're just doing what the public wants. So, it's all about the views. And the best way to get views is to talk about celebrities or their children. That's why you'll get so many photos and videos about Jhanvi Kapoor, Navya Nanda, or Suhana Khan.

The Pursuit of Exclusivity and the Symbiotic Relationship

The more exclusive the photo, the more views you get. In 2022, Varinder Chawla was waiting near a helipad in Alibag, Mumbai. He found out through his sources that a Bollywood star was going somewhere with his son in a helicopter. After waiting for a long time, a car arrived. Varinder waved to the actor and the actor waved to Varinder. And at that moment, he clicked a photo. This photo. Varinder said, this was a real money shot. My hard work finally paid off. Manvi Sharma, who was a publicist for Shah Rukh Khan, said, paparazzi and Bollywood celebrities need each other. Stars need attention and paparazzi need views. This has been going on for many years but what's happening today is very different from the 1990s.

The Shift from Film Magazines to Social Media Paparazzi

Viral Bhayani says that until two years ago taking a photo while waiting outside a restaurant or airport was not a thing. In earlier times, a superstar's manager used to invite photographers to take promotional photos on film sets. In those days, celebrity gossip and news were covered by film magazines. But this changed with social media. Now celebrities could directly talk to their fans and many people thought that the paparazzi business would be shut down. But this didn't happen because these celebrities are not genuine on social media. And because the audience wants genuine content from celebrities’ paparazzi fulfil this demand. They show you how these celebrities go to airports or to parties. Because such photos arouse fans' voyeuristic feelings. And it's easy to do business now because anyone can click any kind of photo with a smartphone.

The Competitive Landscape and Monetization Strategies of Paparazzi

When Instagram accounts realized that celebrity photos generate millions of views, the competition grew. Then the competition grew as to which paparazzi could cross the limit. That's why some started clicking photos of Alia Bhatt from the balcony of their neighbor's house. And others started waiting outside the elevator for celebrities. That's why some paparazzi say that if they miss an important shot their bosses yell at them. But they say that only 20% of the time the celebrity PR team tells the paparazzi. The remaining 80% of the time the paparazzi has to find out when a celebrity is coming and what big events are taking place in the city. But the competition has grown so much that money is needed. Many photographers give tips to drivers and security guards so that they can find out when celebrities are coming. Varinder Chawla says that many beggars in Mumbai also give him tips. Earlier, paparazzi used to sell their photos to earn revenue. Now their Instagram accounts have grown so much that they mostly earn money by posting paid posts. But the problem is that they never tell us which posts are sponsored.

The Unfair Advantage: Star Kids and Free Marketing

For example, during the wedding of Rakul Preet and Jackie Bhagnani all the paparazzi were posting about this song from Laapataa Ladies on the same day. Why? Because it's a paid promotion. But it wasn't mentioned clearly in their accounts. This is the same post. So Instagram accounts post about celebrities which gives them followership. And once they get followers, they postpaid post to earn money. And this is also beneficial for star kids. Star kids get an unfair advantage from the world of paparazzi. And that is free marketing. Let's take the example of Archies. When the cast of this movie was announced, many of us were talking about nepotism. But the irony is that while we were talking about nepotism, this movie also got free marketing in a world where it's not easy to get the attention of the audience. Sometimes before the release of the movie, Suhana Khan had 3. 8 million followers. And by 2021, Khushi Kapoor had 400,000 followers. This means that she can activate her fans and promote her movies almost for free. And using the Instagram account of star kids is the best way to market a movie for the producers.

The Challenges and Costs of Traditional Film Marketing

Many producers post ads on billboards and radios but they're not that effective. Other producers go to TV shows. Be it Kapil Sharma's show or a regional show. Many stars go to shopping malls and colleges. But Karan Johar said that these things don't matter. He said that our PNA costs are pointless. PNA means Promotion and Advertisement. He said that by going to reality shows and malls, you'll feel that 8,000 people have come to see you. But only 80 people out of those 8000 will go and watch the movie. The cost of marketing a Bollywood film can easily be Rs. 2.5 to Rs. 25 crores. No matter how much the cost is, marketing for the producers is difficult. And if the producers don't do marketing in today's world, some other film might become popular. And if they do marketing, there's no guarantee that they'll get a return. That's why many producers try digital marketing. In this, social media websites are used to target relevant audiences. It's easy to do that. All you have to do is make promos for your movie. And then show these promos on Instagram ads. Actors must also pick up their phones and have a live session with fans. The problem is that there's so much content that film producers have to use innovative marketing strategies so that people pay attention to their films. Like using influencers to market their films so that the influencer's fan base starts supporting the movie.

The Strategic Advantage of Casting Star Kids

So I've told you all this to show you that marketing for a movie is very difficult. But if you find an actor who has an active fan following and who's not that expensive, then what more do you need for a film? And this is the advantage of star kids. When they make a film, those people also get activated who like them and those people also who hate them. The matter is that the posters of the film come in front of their eyes and they get curious about the film. The producer benefits from this. Maybe that's why half of the cast of Archies was of star kids. Would we have discussed Archies if it didn't have star kids? Karan Johar said this himself. This is why many film producers cast star kids who already have an activated audience. In 2017, Mint created a nepotism index by analyzing 10 major production houses in India. They said that whether it's Sajid Nadiawala production house, Ajay Devgan's or Shah Rukh Khan's, they all come in the top 3 positions on this nepotism index. Even Sanjay Leela Bhansali mostly casts star kids because introducing a new face in a big budget project is a big commercial risk. Charlie Munger, who was a billionaire investor and a good friend of Warren Buffett, has a quote that I like a lot. It's a very complicated and deep quote. 'Show me the incentives and I will show you the outcome. ' And this is what's happening with these film producers. These film producers have an incentive to earn as much money as possible. Because of this incentive, they cast only those actors who have an activated fan audience because it's very difficult to do marketing today. TV actor Hiten Tejwani also said that many times, producers check actors' social media profiles to see how many followers they have. This means that whether you love star kids or hate them, the benefit is always theirs.