New Delhi: The twitterazzi swooped down upon the news the instant actor and superstar Amitabh Bachchan hit the ‘send’ button. A tweet confirming the pregnancy of a leading actress in the industry, perhaps for the first time in cinematic history, made front page news in major national dailies. As the sun sets on the era of star kids, celebrity babies usher in a trend imported from Hollywood show business.
The celeb baby concept is a first in India, Hollywood has braced it and celebrated it for years now. THIS is India’s first celeb baby!
As Bollywood’s first family, the Bachchans have always been in the limelight, be it the intense coverage of the Abhi-Ash wedding or Senior B’s illness. And now with the baby on its way, the coverage seems to have upped and the paparazzi are waiting!
With Senior B tweeting the happy news, the whole nation, celebs et all, went in to a tizzy tweeting congratulatory messages. The news made front page in most news papers. Could we ever imagine, even a few years back – that a pregnancy announcement would make top headlines?
As a celeb baby, every moment of its life is going to be of interest, the pregnancy photos, the delivery date, the first baby photos might go to the highest bidder as is the Hollywood trend, the baby’s name will have the nation thinking and whether the new born will get the father’s height and gait or the mother’s looks. And post that, every action, every decision made by the celeb parents for the baby will be news. Tremendous pressure on a new-born isn’t it?
The celeb baby phenomenon has just come in to Bollywood with the Abhi-Ash baby announcement. The funny part is- Abhishek and Shweta had star parents as well, as did Esha Deol. But their birth and childhood was never half as high profile. Parents then perhaps did a much better job in protecting a childhood.
In the recent past, Ajay Devgan and Kajol’s children and Twinkle and Akshay Kumar’s son – has been in the news only when spotted with their star-parents. They aren’t stars yet. They still have the scope to grow up a little away from the lime light, make stupid mistakes and figure out fame and celeb-dom on their own. The Abhi-Ash baby will have no such luck.
The Abhi-Ash child will come in to an industry that worships the parents AND the grand parents. As Bollywood is getting used to the high profile stardom common in Bollywood, where every photo opp is grabbed and flashed in minutes, this celeb baby is on its way. With every baby-news related tweet trending in minutes – the stage is set.
So what goes in to the making of a celeb baby? No, we are not talking about the obvious! But just a look into why Nyasa or Aarav did not meet the bar. First- Both the parents must be celebs in news. One of them cannot be missing in action, no sabbaticals from being a celebrity. Kajol and Twinkle were not involved in Bollywood when they had their kids. Second- The pregnancy news must make headlines, be re-tweeted most or get the most hits online.
Hollywood has made peace with the celeb babies, the groomers they have as toddlers, the personal labels and brands they have even before they can talk properly, the trends they start and the labels they wear. Is Bollywood ready for this?
Hollywood has Suri and Shiloh, daughters of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie respectively. The celeb babies are already getting used to being under continuous paparazzi gaze and analysis by fashion critics. Shiloh wearing boots and shorts made news! And if the two girls are on each others social calendar – god save them! (They in fact had a play date) The Abhi-Ash child should take some pointers from them.
Clearly, with no space for mistakes or irresponsible behavior for the child and an eagle eye on mom’s pregnancy dates and lifestyle till the bundle of joy is received – life in the Bachchan household is just going to get more dramatic.
That is what life will be for Bollywood’s first celeb baby. Here’s hoping that he/she gets some more celeb playmates to give her company soon!
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