Do film personalities use their voices to make a difference in our lives?

Vivek Agnihotri: “It depends on what kind of person you are. If you believe whatever love, fame and money you are getting is only because of your talent then you can choose to pray in Dubai. But if you believe that whatever you are, it is because of your society and the generosity of our people, then you will have gratitude in your heart. And such people try to give it back to the society by using their status and influencing power for the benefit of society. Both me and my wife spend most of our time in giving back to the society as we feel whatever we have, it’s due to the society.”

Anubhav Sinha: “Of course they do. Some more than the others but isn't how the society works at large! Some speak louder than the rest? In fact, I feel actors and film personalities get accused of not speaking more than any other. We don't ask this question to our cricketers or painters or any such. This is always an individual choice that any professional makes and should have the liberty to make and should not be judged for the same.”

Apurva Asrani: “Many of them do. Farhan Akhtar walks the talk with his organisation ‘MARD’. Imran Khan is vocal about gay rights and protection of stray dogs. Amitabh Bachchan uses his clout to speak about Hepatitis B, and Deepika Padukone has been vocal about dealing with depression. Then there are film personalities who only pick issues that relate to their upcoming film. Once the promotions are over, the issue is forgotten. It would be nice to see them consistently be agents of social change, with or without a movie to promote.”

Khushboo: “No, they are not coccooned..many voice their opinion..but unfortunately it escalates into something that is not to be..they are targeted when their films are on the verge of release or personal attacks fly like fireworks. Thus, many prefer to remain silent. We are going back to stone age..such is the regression in the society today.”

Vishal Krishna: “Of late, things have changed. Many actors and film persons are prompted to voice their concerns thanks to the rampant growth of social media, Twitter and Facebook have made people with voices conscious of their role in shaping society. Some years ago when social media was not there, you wouldn’t find so many actors voicing their concerns.”

Abhinay Deo: “I believe actors and film personalities must use their art to help contribute to society. As artists, it is their creativity that must ideally have a certain messaging or social comment attached. A good actor or director might not necessarily be a balanced opinion maker. She or he can't be held ransom to that. They are not legislators. Moreover, these days stars are under tremendous scrutiny and often misinterpreted and eventually trolled which is perhaps why you have more and more film personalities shying away from speaking their mind.”

Anant Mahadevan: “Voices are conveniently positioned to coincide with film releases making actors sound like socially committed people. On other occasions, it is a personal image building exercise. Very few actors do it incognito. We are still to have a Jane Fonda or George Clooney in our midst. A few like John Abraham are genuine about their cause for animals but others carry their vegetarianism like some fashion statement. How many of them can swear to never eating non veg?”

Baabul Supriyo: “If they wish to, they can make a huge impact. Stars are big with massive following, many of whom are worshipped. They can easily garner immense attention should they promote any social cause which even crores worth of PR cannot. Many Stars use their star powers to help the society and there is enough inspiration/examples out there for others to follow. Also, I think today everyone is very aware and I believe most stars in modern days are not at all “Cacooned in their own reality”

Shoojit Sircar: “Not at all. I do it when I feel required.”

Bharati S Pradhan: “There is a growing social awareness in many actors. But there's an ideological convenience seen in some of them. Like Swara will only wake up to lampoon a Hindu or the BJP and go into snooze mode when any other community or political group is the perpetrator. On the other hand there's Amitabh Bachchan who as we all know is more socially aware than most others. He's often pulled up for not giving a byte to TV channels and other media on raging issues like the rape of a minor. However, he is an astute man whose blogs say it all abd he has his own way of supporting a cause like doing Beti padhao beti bachao. He does all social awareness campaigns free of cost. So on the whole, no, they're not in a cocoon of their own. They are using their voice. Like Akshay Kumar who has combined anti-tobacco with menstrual hygiene in a new campaign.”