Sanjubaba's patience has finally run out. The star who till now had been gamely bearing the paparazzi parade outside the jailhouse, the courts and his humble abode, in yet another outburst railed against the media for invading his privacy. He was not the only one. Also on record was actor Aamir Khan dubbing the media 'a monster' while out on the publicity rounds for his film.

I think he forgot to spell out the details - the media, (if you were to imagine it a homogenous entity) is an unpredictable, moody seductress. For those familiar with Homer's Odyssey, something of a Circe - a seductive enchantress that can mesmerise even the wisest of men. All those who have been courted by the media will admit that it is something of a fatal attraction. The knowledge that it's an affair that could go seriously out of hand is the unspoken subtext always lurking in the distance.And yet the sparring goes on.

Fact is that most celebrities, when the going is good, enjoy the attention and at some point even begin to imagine that they are dictating terms to the media. This is the delusion that sets in during the Honeymoon Phase when both can't have enough of each other. The glaring drawbacks, don't matter. It's a bit like the argument often used by smokers - “Sure, many people get hooked but it ain't going to be me honeyâ€'. So they imagine that it is always the other guy who will get on the wrong side of the media, not them.

Lulled into complacency with the praise, the grand sobriquets heaped on them, celebrities in general are in for a rude shock when the same publications/channels begin to unearth the dirt on them-broken affairs, flings, bad debts, unpaid bills, tacky underwear...whatever. Everything then comes tumbling out. This is the Rude Reality phase when the celebrity realises that the media that once eulogised it has found new heroes to gush and swoon over. Actress Shilpa Shetty was at the receiving end in recent times when after being hailed the Joan-of-Arc from India by British tabloids, they began to ferret a whole lot of unflattering details of her life.

The realisation, however, does not mean an end of the relationship. That's the Secret. The relationship never ends. It can be good, bad or indifferent but it never draws to a close. Neither the predator nor the prey can completely let go of each other. Ever.

How else would one explain the very actors who had imposed bans on the media going back to merry Q & A sessions around the time of their film release? Some pass it off as a necessity thrust upon them in order to promote their films or to clarify or justify a stand but the fact is that more than bad publicity, it is zero publicity that rattles a star.

In which case, let me have stars about me that are frank. Give me a blunt and honest Shah Rukh Khan any day who never makes any bones about the fact that he loves the publicity. That he does use the media for the promotion of his films and enlists their support as and when necessary. If I remember correctly, in one of his interviews he had even pledged a share to the media if OSO made a profit! I have no idea if he made his journalist friends any richer or has any intentions of doing so in the future but he continues to be a media favourite, idolised and loved in equal measure. Because sometimes, even with an unpredictable temptress, it's the thought that counts.

Screen India