There’s a bunch of random little news stories today about random people, but they all connect in that they show how the public personality and persona that the media wants you to believe doesn’t always match reality.

Shahid first.  Today, the news is, first, he was dropped from Sajid Nadiawala’s Magadheera remake (so excited that this is happening!  I love Magadheera!  Shahid would have been a perfect Hindi hero, but I am still excited about whoever else they may get.  Varun?).  Second, he was also dropped from AK vs SK/Farzi.  And now he is saying that post the Rangoon shoot, he will be “unemployed.”

This kind of news isn’t unusual, really, there is a lot of moving around in pre-production, money runs out, schedules don’t work, lots of reasons someone would be dropped.  And Shahid is in that middle zone where he is famous enough that any upcoming film gets reported, but not so powerful that a film is automatically made once he is attached.  But John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan and Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor and plenty of others are in that zone too, and you don’t hear nearly as many stories about them being considered and then dropped!

I don’t know what Shahid does on film sets or in pre-production meetings, but people really do not seem to like working with him!  I think Vishal Bardwaj might be the only director who has taken him for something twice?  Despite the fact that he is inarguably talented with a decent sized fan following.  And yet, you constantly hear about him being dropped for a role in pre-production.  It’s nothing to do with the end result of what you see onscreen, it must just be something about his personality.  He comes off as kind of a nice decent sweet boy in interviews and onscreen, but in reality he must be totally different

(Look how sweet!  And yet, even Sooraj Barjatya can’t bare to work with him again)

That’s the persona being sweeter than the reality, but there’s another story that points out how it can be the reverse, with the persona being “bad boy” and the reality being “good boy”.  Bollywoodhungama pointed out a really striking way that Salman Khan’s personal life is effecting not just his “reel” life, but “reel” life in general.  Two films released this year were based on true stories, in which Salman Khan played a pivotal role, and he was erased from both of them.  He has become such an important figure in Indian society, that he is a factor in multiple events, but at the same time so controversial that no one wants to include him.

And it was done so well in the “reel” world, I didn’t even notice what happened, even though I knew about both of the “real” involvements of Salman.  He was Sangeeta’s boyfriend at the time she started dating Azhar, possibly planning a wedding, making the Sangeeta-Azhar love story a double betrayal, not just Azhar betraying his wife but Sangeeta betraying her fiance.  And yet Salman was mostly erased from the film Azhar.

(See!  There’s even photos, he was absolutely with Sangeeta)

Even more drastic, in Sarbjit, they tell the story of Sarbjit Singh and his sister Dalbir Kaur and her efforts to free Sarbjit from Pakistani prison.  But it ignores the pivotal moment when Dalbir Kaur found her way on to the set of Dabangg and enlisted the help of Salman Khan in her crusade.  And I remember that!  Salman tweeted photos of her, updates on her efforts, links to petitions, all sorts of things.  It was how I, a shallow shallow person who only reads the headlines and the movie news, learned about this story to begin with.  But because Salman Khan’s star persona is such a hot potato right now, these two stories, in which he does everything noble and right (fiance who is cheated on by Sangeeta, noble crusader for justice and freedom with Dalbir), are erased.

(Again, photos!  It really did happen, no matter how much the films want to pretend it didn’t)

And then there’s Dips and Priyanka.  Two actresses with a lot in common, former models who slowly climbed through the ranks and were acknowledged as “actors” and “stars”, now both breaking into the American market.  What they are doing is the same, but how the media is presenting it is very different.

I was kind of waiting for this shift with Priyanka.  The same thing happened with Aish, the media was all gung ho for her crossover breakthrough, and then she got just a little too focused on her western career, and too dismissive of her Indian fans, and suddenly the reporting shifted.  Priyanka is going all in on America appearances.  Talk shows, awards shows, everything.  She is easing away from her Indian commitments, minimal promotion for her most recent film (leading to a low box office), and no appearance at Indian awards shows, even when she wins.  She is beginning to feel more like an American star who moonlights in India, like Aish did for a few years back before Mistress of Spices flopped and sent her running home again.

Deepika, in contrast, is being very careful.  She is working on an American movie set, but so far as I know she has done no American work besides that, no talk show appearances or anything like that.  And back in India, she goes full-throttle for all her film promotions, is enthusiastic at award shows and, most importantly, is very open and above board about her relationship with a fellow actor in the Indian industry.  She feels more like an Indian star who is moonlighting with a little American work.  Like Anil Kapoor and Anupum Kehr.

And what is the result?  Well, yesterday there were two articles published at once.  One was about how Priyanka made a “flying visit” from America to Patna to promote a Bhojpuri movie her company produced, and her bouncers “miss-behaved” with the media, not allowing anyone to get a glimpse of the actress, and leading to a mass walkout.  And the other was about Deepika, immediately upon arrival in India from her American movie set, rushing to the bedside of an injured employee, arranging for her medical care, and taking care of all her expenses. They are doing almost the exact same thing on paper, but there is a media narrative being crafted of Priyanka as the uppity NRI and Deepika as the devoted loyal Indian.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting seeing all these things line up like that!