April 16, 2006

This is a normal feature in Film Nagar. The journey from stardom to fall to banishment to comeback to redemption (and the possibility of beginning the cycle anew) shares a common thread: Each stage is newsworthy and attracts eyeballs. A controversial story transforms itself into star-gazing. The entertainment business is not unique in resurrecting the disgraced and exiled. Comebacks abound in every sphere.

If success is defined as the absence of failure, it is a hollow victory. Filmmakers, should be judged on their best work, not their worst. After all, anybody can make a bad movie. But how many can make a great movie? It is just a matter of time before these celebrities will be in the reckoning but what you can notice here is the fickle ways of the industry. You are as good as the last film. And beneath the thick layer of make-up, the actresses suffer from anxiety, strain and emotional fatigue. Sometimes relationships drive them to the verge of death. Ankita, Arthi Agarwal, Gazala all have been lucky enough to survive relationship trauma.

These beautiful and talented ladies with their seemingly foolish act have put a break in their careers and will have to wait till some meaningful project comes their way. Work for them will definitely crop up but another repeat act, its goodbye to cameras. The old adage "Success has many parents but failure is an orphan" is certainly true of Tollywood, where people get triple hernias taking bows for projects that they had nothing to do with. Failure invites introspection, humility and self-awareness. Success can spawn arrogance and the appearance of omnipotence.

In our film industry celebrities often have more difficulty in dealing with success than failure. Part of their problem might be that there are fewer role models for winning than for losing. What's needed is a working environment that recognizes the value of failure in achieving success.

Y Sunita Chowdhary

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