Are stars responsible for the actions of their fan club members?
That is an age-old debate which was stirred up yet again earlier this week, after a few men who are office-bearers of a young star’s fan club allegedly attacked a woman and her friends for writing a negative online review on the star’s latest release. She also committed the ‘cardinal sin’ of revealing the movie’s suspense. A flurry of abuses ensued from either side, culminating in the alleged attack.
Now, joining a particular star’s fans’ association means you accept this person as better than anyone else around, shutting out the possibility of anyone performing better than him (notable is the absence of official fan clubs for female stars).
As a superstar said, a bit rudely, in a meeting of one such association (a video which got leaked into YouTube a few years ago), fans are meant to accept all new releases without questions. Criticism is not their job. It now seems stopping other critics is also part of their jobs.
In the earlier days of such associations, the stated purpose was to get together, fill the theatres and spread good word around on the first few days of the star’s new release.
By the late 1990s, they went a bit further, filling the theatres and howling their hearts out on the opening day of the rival star’s release. A few years later, one such group even verbally attacked a literary giant for some harsh words on their man.
The addition of a tag ‘welfare association’ to such groups (influenced from the model followed in Tamil Nadu) and some worthy charity activity gave them an air of respectability.
But still criticism was abound on such groups being a magnet for unemployed youth in the State.
One or two young stars have taken a stand against anyone forming such clubs in their name, even as a few others start one on their own, even before their first release.
With the stars more often than not choosing to keep quiet when something untoward happens, the question of who will rein them in when situations like the recent ones occur is pertinent. Also, does a good actor need a registered fan club? Does the Pacinos and Bardems have one?
