Cine Stuck: Here's Why Will Smith Is A Rarity Away From The Myth Of Superstardom

Here's why Will Smith comes across as an actor who does not believe in his own myth. He is a rarity.

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Cine Stuck: Here's Why Will Smith Is  A Rarity Away From The Myth Of Superstardom
I have always liked Will Smith. He exudes a rare positivity in his personality. The only time I saw him angry was when a “fan”(male)  had grabbed and kissed him on the red carpet. There is only so much adulation one can take…right?  That apart,  Mr Smith’s will-power is exemplary. He never loses  his cool in public. Never cheated on his wife. In fact, his wife of 24 years reportedly betrayed Will. In a public declaration, she outed her brief relationship with another man. Will Smith forgave his wife. He  made sure their marriage survived the storm. Sometimes it takes just one to clap.

Will Smith is an honest man and an honest superstar. A man who has not become a victim of his superstardom. I know of at least two Indian superstars who are so cut off from reality they don’t know who they really are. One of them an iconic superstar and a role-model for many actors, is acting all the time.  The performance never stops. The  other superstar is very costly to producers. Besides charging a bomb as his fee he arrives for a 9 am shift at 5 pm.

How much guts must it have taken Will Smith to click himself with all the flab he has accumulated  during lockdown and  show his  fans what he actually looks like,  photo-shopping be  damned.


It is rare  for  a superstar  to be so connected to reality. Rajesh Khanna,  India’s first superstar lost touch with the real world soon after superstardom hit him. He started believing in his own  myth. Every successive superstar  in India  has  been  a victim  of his  own image. They may seem  to be down-to-earth and modest. But trust me ,they are all oblivious to  the real world. To them, flattery is fact. Criticism is fiction.

Do not, repeat DO NOT, make the mistake of taking their offer  to be truthful  seriously. If a superstar asks you to be honest  about his performance he means he wants to  hear only  praise. If a superstar praises  you for your opinion it means you have praised him  and his  work. Try criticism, constructive as  it may be, and you are no  longer  a friend.

I remember one superstar accusing me of  being a follower of the ruling government, after I wrote something he didn’t like. I have no clue how my comments on his work reflected  any kind of  political ideology. Who knows how the minds of superstars work? Certainly not the superstars themselves.

Will Smith is a rarity. This  Smith doesn’t believe in his own myth. He can see his paunch.

Image source: Instagram/willsmith
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