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Be it Johnny Depp-Amber Heard's defamation trial or Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas becoming parents via surrogacy, these celeb stories, among many others, make headlines.
And, it is often seen how every such incident leads to people judging these known names without knowing the truth that lies behind.
Actress Vaishnavi Ganatra feels judging a person without knowing the truth is absolutely wrong. The 'Woh Toh Hain Albelaa' actor shares that in showbiz, every single person has an opinion. And with opinions, come the rights to express them.
"People have the power to judge anyone and anything that they want. Although, it is important to learn the facts before assuming. Being a public figure gives us access to more people anyway, compared to a normal person who has a day-to-day routine. They have a certain impression of celebrities in their heads and they are very quick to judge when we make a move apart from what they have imagined."
She continues: "We are always in the limelight. Even the slightest of moves that you make regarding your personal life, or may it be your hair or body or literally anything related to you, there are going to be people who will judge you for the choices and decisions you make, which again, is their decision."
"We can't stop them. There are two groups of people, the ones who will respect your decisions and privacy, and others who will invade it just so that they can give their opinions. You have to decide which ones to pay attention to. I feel constructive criticism should be our focus."
Vaishnavi is yet to face any sort of public scrutiny. However, she is aware it can happen any time as controversies and the hate is always going to stay, no matter how good a person is.
"People will not stop making comments or expressing their opinions about your life. It is you that has to stop thinking about what they are saying. I strongly feel that my values should not decrease based on someone's inability to see my worth. I should be able to continue and make my decisions the way I want to. Like I said earlier, if there is both negativity and positivity, one must know where to focus on," she adds.
Social media makes everything go viral and most of them enjoy the attention with a pinch of salt, but many react as well.
"When something is going viral and it reaches a point that you cannot bear it, respond to it. Don't react. There is a difference. When we end up reacting to negativity by being even more negative, we give that person power over ourselves."
"Take a moment, and respond in a calm and composed manner. There are plenty of people who believe that negative publicity is the best publicity. Being a celeb, a person gets exposed to all kinds of publicity. Choose which ones are for your benefit and growth," she explains.
Fame has its price. Being a celebrity is not a joke as it has its own baggage as well as responsibilities. Agreeing, Vaishnavi says that as much as a celebrity loves fame and attention, it definitely has its price.
"With fame comes a whole lot of responsibility to maintain that reputation. Being a celeb, millions of people are going to be following your footsteps. The audience is going to keep a watch on the smallest move you make. Fans will do what you do. And in situations like these, I feel like it is our responsibility to be morally right, make decisions that are socially right."
"The smallest of mistakes can lead to a huge problem because a celebrity influences a large mass of people and whatever s/he does is going to lead to a chain reaction. To say the right things, to do the right things and to be a role-model for a million other people who admire you is a huge task. With decisions, come judgements."
"People judge celebrities because we cannot agree to each and everyone's opinions. Pleasing everyone isn't possible. However, looking at the situation as a whole, doing what you feel is morally correct and not getting affected by negativity is a major responsibility," she adds.
Vaishnavi feels that one should be able to view art and the artist separately. She also feels that for a celeb, balancing his/her personal life and professional life is extremely important.
"Every celeb should learn how to do it and not let either one interfere with the other. Work when it is time for work and spend quality time with family, friends and yourself when it is time for that. Don't mix them otherwise you will just end up exhausting yourself," she signs off.
