Hey Bollywood, We Know How To Do Dishes and Cook! Can You Use Your Influence In a Better Way Please?

So by now, we all know that we are under lockdown, thanks to coronavirus outbreak. The respective governments all over the world have asked citizens to strictly adhere to quarantine rules and save everyone from falling prey to COVID-19. Internet, being the only window to the world right now, is the carrier of awareness messages, news and myths. While some are super educative, others are just rumours. Now is the time when maximum authentic information should be circulated on the disease. Thankfully, our Bollywood stars have a special privilege of having a wide social reach with millions of followers at their finger-tips. There words, pictures and videos can educate so many of them in one go. But I guess they are more involved in their recently discovered home-making skills!

The 'work from home' facility and the 'stay at home' rule has automatically pushed us in spending extra time on social media. Instagram, to be specific. We all are guilty of joining the trend of sharing the 'quarantine activities' in our Insta-stories in between a few 'informative' posts. It was all fun and games till the A-listers and TV stars started taking the quarantine life way too seriously.

Let me be honest, it was super adorable to see the celebrities doing their bit and setting an example of 'how to stay at home without fussing about it.' It was also cute to see how they are just like you and me, chilling and working in their pyjamas. But the real problem started when they began having superficial pride in this and are not ready to move on from flaunting their chores.

Instagram is now flooded with posts where celebs are sharing things like how they cook or work out at home. To the point, where it is getting irritating! Be it Katrina Kaif - Kartik Aaryan's 'how to lather dishes and wash them' tutorial or Ananya Panday-Malaika Arora's  'how to cook' tutorials, I get the point! I understood that these guys are not starry all the time and are just 'aam junta' when at home. But when are they planning to move on from telling us how to cook, clean utensils, work out at home, scrub face, arrange wardrobe, do yoga or video call friends? Karanvir Bohra even urged fans to help 'women at home' with a picture of a broom in his hand. Sorry to break your bubble B-town, but most of the population in our country already does that. COVID-19 or No COVID-19! And yes, these are our chores without which we do not go to bed, and we definitely do not think they are worth posting. It is almost insulting when you get to see what you do daily is being treated like some camping shenanigan!

There are some celebs who might also argue on 'why are we expected to be carriers of messages?' And my answer would be simple- because people love you, follow you and you influence them! They say, with stardom comes great responsibility. Yes, we saw them being responsible through those video messages on COVID-19 awareness. But is that enough? And then heart breaks when some one legendary like Amitabh Bachchan ends up forwarding a fake whatsapp message on his Twitter account with a mega fan-base.

On the other hand, a few posts shared by some of the celebs did make difference. For instance, Alia Bhatt's post on 'save water while washing hands' was a huge hit on the internet. The post soon became viral and people actually shared it on their own accounts, spreading the word. And that's when you know the importance and reach of a celebrity's social media account. Guitar/piano covers are welcomed with huge hearts but these Instagram profiles are capable of carrying more than that! More untapped content, and necessary information. Then again, who are we to tell them, you ask? The same people who have kept them on the pedestal, giving them the tag of an 'icon' and 'influencers!' For a good reason, of course!

Wouldn't it be cooler to find some interesting update, optimistic message on their feeds instead of the things that we anyway know like the back of our hands? After all, it is clear that a large chunk of society is yet to come to the terms of seriousness of COVID-19 and it's effects. So, Dear Bollywood celebs, we are looking for some inspiration and not a mirror image of ourselves!

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2020 07:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).