Socialite Author Declares Telugu Superstar Chiranjeevi Dead

This isn’t the first time that she has  goofed up with  the  identity of a film personality.Shobha De , superstar-socialite  and author, much favoured  by certain media houses has done the  inexcusable again.

She has  posted the wrong picture  in condoling the death  of  an actor. This time the  victim of her  penmanship  is  the Kannada actor Chiranjeevi Sarja  who passed away suddenly on June 7. Quick to condole(why? What  is  the need to condole  the death  of  a person when you don’t even know what he looks like?)  Ms De posted a picture of  the Telugu legend  Chiranjeevi little realizing in her blissful ignorance what a blasphemous  blooper  this  is specially for Telugu  movie  buffs.

 “With  due respects ,  this is like posting a Amitabh Bachchan’s picture when  another person by that name dies. How can such an experienced and respected journalist  be  so slipshod? I  think  this is a reflection  of what  entertainment  journalism in India has come  to,” a prominent young Telugu actor  told me angrily.

 This  would be designated as the acme of cinema illiteracy.  One may be excused  for not knowing what  Chiranjeevi Sarju looks  like.  But surely every Indian who is  has ever visited  a movie theatre  ,  sat before a television set  or browsed  on the internet knows what  Chiranjeevi  looks like!

Along with Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth  , Chiranjeevi’s is the  most recognizable  face of Indian cinema. How can  this  kind of  irresponsible  reporting be  excusable in a writer  who  has been  commenting on cinema for  50 years?