Year Ender 2023: Year of Orry & ‘India’s famous for being famous’ brigade

Orry with celebrities Tripti Dimri, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Karishma Kapoor. (Photo via X)

Heard of Zsa Zsa Gabor? The Hungarian blonde who famously drawled ‘darling’ into ‘dahlink’, had eight husbands, a ton of jewels, was at times silly, often conceited and flamboyant, and not many remember her fairly forgettable film career. Well, she might have been a dud on screen but she was ‘human entertainment’, providing entertainment by the very process of living. You know, what we call ‘famous for being famous’. That’s the Zsa Zsa Factor - humans who have gained recognition for having done virtually nothing of significance. And Zsa Zsa is the prototype of doing nothing and being famous for famous.

American journalist and writer Neal Gabler might have been the first to define celebrity as ‘human entertainment’ but British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge was probably the first to use the actual phrase in the introduction to his book Muggeridge Through The Microphone (1967) in which he wrote: “In the past if someone was famous or notorious, it was for something- as a writer or an actor or a criminal; for some talent or distinction or abomination. Today one is famous for being famous. People who come up to one in the street or in public places to claim recognition nearly always say: "I've seen you on the telly!”

Well, these ‘famous for being famous’ entities are not merely peeping out of the television rectangles. They crowd the phone screens, they jump out of tabloids, their reels are discussed more than wars, and their faces are forced-stuck in our eyes and minds. Hate them or not, they do nothing yet they are famous. And cashing it, too. Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, NeNe, Snooki, Jon or Kate Gosselin, Honey Boo Boo - the list is endless. But we do not have to look West for our own Zsa Zsas. We have a celeb-cluster, too.
Know Orry? His real name is Orhan Awatramani. At every red carpet, he is the arm candy and/or selfie companion. No one knows what exactly is his livelihood except being Bollywood’s BFF. He is everywhere. And he gets paid for taking selfies with other celebrities. Not a penny or two. That’s a staggering Rs 25-30 lakhs for a ‘one-night appearance’.  So he confessed in Big Boss 17 where he was locked for two days. “I get paid to get pictures clicked at the events with the pose that I do and post them. I earn around Rs 20-30 lakh for these pictures in one night,” the man with tiny man-bun, three phones and five managers said. “I am the liver”, he said. Liver? What’s that Orry? Am still deciphering the simile. But Orry can call himself anything he wants, the eager crowd shall lend the ear. Because Orry is supremely famous for being famous.

Urfi Javed (she prefers Uorfi) sews tea bags, clothespins, plastic bags, combs (yes, combs) into a dress. Even a cotton candy. Her outfits are itsy-bitsy, and utterly outrageous - but paps buzz around her and publications give her a full-spread. From a post-it dress to one from an Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla atelier, she surely has swum mainstream. The ace designers even paid a homage to her on their Instagram page: “Love her or hate her, you cannot ignore her. Uorfi Javed radiates pure panache in a hand embroidered silk tulle saree. Sparkling with crystals and sequins in silver and gold, her intricate garment is from the all new 'Dazzle Collection'. By dressing Uorfi, Abu Sandeep represent her essence as an individual - one that continues to shine no matter what”. That’s a elegant praise for someone who once wore a semblance of a bikini top that was merely two black mobile phones dangling precariously on her breasts.

Once upon a time, Rakhi Sawant began with short dresses and a loud mouth that was prone to malfunction (remember, ‘chitting’ for cheating!). Priya Varrier one day winked coquettishly & the world drooled. That woman in a reality show titled Emotional Atyachar  who in between spewing venom against her boyfriend called him ‘bitch of a son’. She even talked of a ‘Biggini Shoot. Two pieces only’ (read: Bikini Shoot). And the recent one with ‘age doesn’t the matter’ one liner (watch Yashraj Mukhate’s musical spoof of this jumbled phrase). Didn’t know being a terrible Shakespeare can bring in an entire book of fame.

Bhuvan Bam, Prajakta Koli, Kusha Kapila and Dolly Singh became famous for their funny bones, and then went mainstream. Carry Minati (his real name is Ajey Nagar) rants about anything/everything and 41.1 million people listen to him attentively. He is so loud, your eardrums will burst without the mandatory muffs. Komal Pandey & Isha Bora have made a living out of wearing sarees and a Rohit Bose is draping dhoti all day - a million different drapes. Sometimes, he flaunts his underwear, too! Now, he and his mother synchronise dhoti-wearing - he confesses he sometimes steals his mom’s sarees for wedding outfits. The steal gets views - he has 214,000 followers on Instagram. Cannot count them all - there are more of their ilk than stars in the real galaxy. Keep watching.

Approve or disapprove the Orrys and the Uorfis are famous. Approval or disapproval is not so relevant, both elicit the same response. It is a vicious loop. They are famous because they get talked about which is because they are famous, and so on. Get the idea? The goal is fame, not respect or artistic merit. Fame is currently defined as a public estimation (reputation) and popular acclaim (renown) (Merriam-Webster, 2020). Or as Woody Allen had famously said, “We have created an entire generation of celebrities who are not famous for being special, but rather special for being famous”.

In time, Orry might become a verb. Or become a word in a dictionary as the synonym for doing nothing and being famous for being famous. That would be quite an entry (pun intended).