Only diamonds are forever!

Nonika Singh

THESE days, each time I search the Net, the face of one of my favourite actresses, Priyanka Chopra, pops up. Indeed, she is a world icon and right now the toast of the rich and famous. Besides her numerous Oscar presences, she is likely to make it to the select invitee list of Britain’s royal couple’s impending wedding. 

So why am I stressing over the face the world has a crush on? Well, for right now, her face is appearing in a rather infamous context. As most of us are trying to decode the gargantuan fraud committed by the absconding Nirav Modi, her beaming smile, which never fails to dazzle us, is taking a beating of sorts. The jewels she once endorsed belong to the man in the eye of a massive financial embezzlement. Can celebrities be held accountable for the products (or, more importantly, the deeds of men behind them) they endorse? That is a debate on which the jury is still out. 

But on Nirav Modi, the stance is all too clear. The whole world, including our PM, caught in the wrong frame with Nirav in Davos, is busy disassociating himself from Chhota Modi, as the Opposition has dubbed him, rather venomously. Priyanka too is contemplating legal action to wriggle out of her association with his brand. This puts me in the confession box too. I stand guilty of polishing brand Nirav by interviewing him during one of India’s best-known art fairs in New Delhi. Shall I (and there are many like me) too seek legal recourse on how to remove my byline?

It’s not just celebs, but mere mortal journos like us too who often forget the axiom — He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon. But how are we to know behind which face lurks a potential fraudster? Perhaps, we need to be more cautious of the razzle-dazzle of the glitterati. But what to do… often noble ‘causes’ can blind us too. 

Early on in my journalistic career, I had the good fortune (now misfortune it seems) of meeting this nobler-than-thou social worker. Taken in by his good deeds, I recall writing not one, but several glowing articles on him and his NGO’s activities. Today, as he cools his heels in a jail as a paedophile, I can’t help but wonder; did I contribute to the making of....

Fellow journalists, meanwhile, are busy throwing uncomfortable questions to handsome actor Sidharth Malhotra. They are not curious about his performance in the just-released Aiyaary. Since he too modelled for Brand Nirav, the ‘inquisition’ is of a different kind. His reply makes sense — ‘Yes, I endorsed Nirav Modi’s diamond brand. But I didn’t know he was a scamster.’

Can I too borrow his words and use them as an alibi of my innocence/ ignorance? I, however, can’t shake off the niggling doubt: are we journalists complicit, gullible or cussed foolish? Guess, the jury is out on that too.