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Editor’s Note: Meet the most reluctant cover stars ever!
What makes millennials such public people, yet so private?
Through my years as a lifestyle journalist and magazine editor, I’ve encountered different people with deluded ideas of fame.
For many, being famous equals being successful; for others, being recognised is a sign of respect. And many will go to any lengths to get fame.
As a young journalist with an influential newspaper in Mumbai, I saw this up close on my 19th birthday. A dinner I had planned with six close friends was hijacked by a famous choreographer with his Bollywood star girlfriend. Then an upcoming actress, she would go on to become one of the biggest stars in the country. A fashion designer came in bearing clothes, forced me to change into them (I thought I looked horrendous!) and seeing all the famous people around, the restaurant offered me a 25 per cent discount!
At first, I was flattered. But I soon realised that none of this was really for me. It was for what I could write about these people in the publication I worked for. I retreated immediately. Since then, “getting famous” has become easy. PR strategists, paid editorials, zero-credibility 100 under 100 lists (yes, I’m being sarcastic) and social media have all given fame an odd new character. It’s easier to get famous than ever before.
Our cover stars today leave me most impressed by the fact that they’re not courting fame.
All three are achievers in their own right: Rishiv Khattar, 34, is currently basking in the success of his Austrian-French restaurant in New York called Koloman, which The NY Times gave three stars. Rishiv is a UPenn graduate and has dabbled in public policy and a tech start-up, but is most excited about developing his writing skills. When we called him for this story, it took multiple rounds of convincing.
“I’m an intensely private person,” he said to me repeatedly.
Dr Cuterus, 27, is a doctor whose Instagram page, which is a campaign to promote better recognition of women’s health issues, has just crossed 1million subscribers. In Delhi to launch her new book—another ratification of her success as a content creator—she complained, “I can’t stay for the HT Brunch shoot. I have patients waiting for me in Allahabad!”
Zaeden, also 27, is a DJ-turned-hearthrob-cum-singer, whose Spotify impressions are now inching towards a number that super successes like Prateek Kuhad are proud of. After many attempts trying to get him to do this shoot, it took an exasperated text message to make it happen. Zaeden’s going to have many more covers in the future and he knows it.
Why would three young achievers not be more enthusiastic about being featured on the cover of India’s most influential lifestyle magazine?
As it turns out, they’ve got the formula down right. They recognise media attention is important, but they won’t sacrifice their work for it. Packaging does not win over content in a generation that swears by authenticity. And you’ve got to give it to them for that!
Also in this issue: Is SRK-Deepika’s new song heralding a new style of choreography, inspired by TikTok? Two Bollywood fans debate.
In his fortnightly column on mental health issues, Nikhil Taneja shows why social media may be turning us into unpleasant human beings.
And in fashion, learn how to style scarves for the time of the year when we in India can wear them.
Also, from all of us at HT Brunch, we wish you a fantastic 2023!
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From HT Brunch, December 31, 2022
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