Power to influence, prominence in media, and leadership qualities were the parameters for conducting an opinion poll to find out about
So what is it that makes the Big B the most admired Indian? Why is it that he is still able to give the young lot a run for their money? Its his charisma and unfettered charm that extends beyond the 70 mm screen. He is undoubtedly the Big Badshah of Indian celluloid. Not to far behind is the K-K-K-King Khan. He is all that Big B isn’t. What I mean is that “modesty” is certainly not his middle name. A little more grounded to the earth and he would have definitely been the most coveted for actor of the tinsel town. Nevertheless, he has been able to woo the audiences with his charm and histrionics.
There are others who feature in this list..people who have made it really big in their respective fields – Anil Ambani, L.N. Mittal, Aishwariya Rai, Barkha Dutt, Narayana Murthy and their likes. A noticeable thing about the list was that more than 25% of the people featuring on it were from the tinsel town. The others were from the fields of sports, politics, business, and a couple of media persons. Sadly enough, no one from the intelligentsia..no one from the academia. Where are all the great and talented writers and artists? Is the common man inspired only by people from Bollywood or the national craze – Cricket? Do people like Medha Patkar or an Amartya Sen do make a difference? Does anyone know about the contributions of these people? What happened to people like P.Chidambaram and Jhumpa Lahiri et al? It is a very sorry state of affairs that we think of entertainment tycoons as the most admirable personalities. Not that I don’t enjoy watching movies. In fact, I am quite a movie buff myself and love to unwind myself watching some flick. But then I really am not too inspired by them and certainly don’t think that they are the most admirable people. I do think that people like Medha Patkar, Jhumpa Lahiri, Barkha Dutt et al have given a new face to Indian women. Ah-well.. I am already sounding like a hard-core feminist and so I feel it would be wise to stop now.
