ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
The Young ones
By HT
Sunday July 22, 02:01 AM
Five years ago, you'd have thought that Prachi was 'a lucky girl' to have such 'understanding' parents that she had no problem dumping academics to get into acting. Today, Prachi is just one teenager among many in the several worlds of glamour - acting, modelling and singing.
Check out former child star Hansika Motwani, for instance. A lead actress at the age of 16, she romances Himesh Reshamiya, a man perhaps twice her age, in Aap Ka Suroor. Then there's 17-year-old Abhas Joshi, a class XII student who gave up his family life and school-leaving exams when he left his home town, Jabalpur, to participate in Star's Voice of India contest. The contest is still on, so Abhas isn't a star, but his dream was always to make it big in the film and music industry, and he's single-mindedly chasing that dream. At 18, model Anushka Sharma actually lives her dream. Why not? She isn't an inexperienced newcomer. Having started on the catwalk at the age of 14, she's been in the business for four years.
For most people, these youngsters are just children. 'Barely out of their diapers' would be a bit of an exaggeration, but we'd definitely consider them much too young to make the sort of decisions and live the sort of lives that their chosen professions impose on them. "What are their parents thinking of?" we ask.
That's an attitude few people have. If academics simply isn't their thing, what is the point, they say, of forcing themselves to do it? Doesn't it make more sense to get out there and earn a living? And the living, in the glamour industry, can be a good one. Provided, of course, that you get your break.
Money and fame
"I bought my first car when I was 17," says Anushka Sharma. "How many people my age can do that?" Her pride as she asks that question explains the attraction that the world of glamour holds for young people - and their parents. Instant fame and money.
The money is not that difficult to earn, particularly now when fame, courtesy television, is so easily come by. As singer Sunidhi Chauhan who won the Lata Mangeshkar Award in the Meri Awaz Suno show on Doordarshan at the age of 11 and began singing professionally at the age of 14, points out, "It is very easy to become a star today. If you are on TV for two continuous weeks, people recognise you. It doesn't matter whether you can sustain yourself or not. What matters is that you are a celebrity in your neighbourhood, and performing at neighbourhood functions can earn you a good amount of money."
That's why Vineet, who was runner-up at last year's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest is blas and #233; about the fact that he isn't a graduate. Though he's just 18, he drives a Honda Accord and owns a two-bedroom flat in Mumbai. How would a degree in an academic subject help him get further? "Singing was my passion and I made a choice to give up everything else for it," he shrugs. "It isn't as though I haven't worked hard, it's just that I decided to go in a certain direction."
All grown up
Not everyone can be an Anushka, Prachi, Hansika or Vineet with a career on a roll. Abhas, for instance, doesn't know yet if he'll get the break he wants. And while 19-year-old Arshpreet, another Voice of India contestant, has passed his class XII exams, he refuses to graduate in any 'academic' subject even though this is his third attempt to make it in the music industry. Instead, he'll do music. "I first participated when I was 16," says Arshpreet. "I haven't been very successful, but I'm sure that one day I'll make it. Singing is the only thing I want to do. I will keep trying till I succeed."
Which brings up a bigger question: Are these youngsters mature enough to make decisions like this? And can they handle the demands of the industry they get into? Abhas admits that it is difficult. "Kids my age can't take too much stress," he says. "They can't take criticism positively. It becomes very difficult to handle a lot of situations."
p.s. this is a hindustan times article and they dont know whether arshpreet is aboy or girl😕
Edited by ankita31 - 18 years ago
