Urvashi Rautela has won, this piece is proof. A part-time actor and full-time celebrity, Rautela has been on the fringes of fame for a dozen years. If you aren바카라t familiar with her work, it바카라s not entirely your fault. The handful of films she바카라s been in, have barely made a mark at the box office, except maybe Daaku Maharaj, which made over Rs 100 crores in its first week바카라something Rautela has mentioned without fail in each and every interview, irrespective of what the question might have been. Like many fair-skinned, steadfast starlets entering films through the route of pageantry, a 19-year-old Rautela made her debut with a 56-year-old Sunny Deol in Singh Saab The Great (2013). Starring in films that fixated on her bosom, Rautela became a laughing stock바카라for her blatant, compulsive lying habit (recently she claimed she had bought a limited edition Rolls Royce, something she tried to evade answering for a long time). A week ago, she posed on the red carpet at the 2025 Cannes film festival carrying a parrot-themed soft toy doubling as a clutch. Whatever one might think of her, it바카라s been quite the journey.
The Hindi cinema landscape is saturated with pretty faces, fit bodies, talented crafts persons and attention-seeking sociopaths, who will do just about anything to be famous. It바카라s not an entirely new phenomenon to see someone displaying 바카라quirks바카라 in front of cameras. The likes of Rakhi Sawant had cornered that market in the early 2010s. Only last year, Poonam Pandey바카라s manager (in retrospect, a PR masterstroke) announced her death. A day later it was revealed to be a stunt바카라part of an ad campaign to raise awareness about cervical cancer. Pandey, whose claim to fame was announcing she would go topless if the Indian cricket team won the 2011 world cup, and after being a dormant topic for more than a decade, was again in the national headlines. One might consider them as Rautela바카라s rivals, fighting for their 15 seconds of fame.
Rautela was initially mocked for her less-than-perfect English pronunciation. In a reel, she says she would like to star in a film with Leonardo 바카라Dye-Caprio바카라. After that it was the zeal with which she would promote her films that kept her going바카라when a reporter asked her about the attack on Saif Ali Khan, she responded with Daaku Maharaj바카라s collections in the first week. Also, something that sets her apart are her responses that seem borderline narcissistic, even delusional. Producer and Publicist Mauli Singh (founder of Loudspeaker Media) notes how Rautela바카라s image is more constructed than it seems. 바카라There바카라s a conscious effort to look poised, there바카라s a pretense바카라it바카라s an act, which is very clearly visible,바카라 she says, adding that she might not put Rautela and Rakhi Sawant in the same bracket. 바카라Rakhi was being herself, while Urvashi has a bit more finesse.바카라
Dr Vihang Vahia finds plenty of reason behind Rautela바카라s unparalleled zeal during promotions. 바카라There바카라s no foundation to rely on (for an actor바카라s career),바카라 he observes. 바카라There바카라s no guarantee that your skills finding acceptance today, will find acceptance next week. That바카라s a source of great anxiety.바카라
Dr Kersi Chavda doesn바카라t wish to comment on Rautela individually, but he echoes Dr Vahia바카라s thesis that a career in the Hindi film industry is a high pressure job. 바카라To become a successful celebrity, yes, one needs some degree of narcissism and delusion,바카라 notes Dr Chavda, 바카라I have to make it, I바카라m the best바카라one has to constantly affirm to themselves because it바카라s very easy to end up on the opposite side, where you think you바카라re the most horrible person. It takes an extremely strong person to get to the top.바카라
Urvashi Rautela바카라s delusions바카라once the reason behind her viral reels바카라seem like an organic part of her personality now. For instance, during a conversation with RJ Siddharth Kannan, the 31-year-old Great Grand Masti (2016) actor insisted that there was a temple in Uttarakhand dedicated to her. For an audience now used to hearing the darndest things from Rautela in interviews, this didn바카라t come as a complete surprise. What was amusing though, was Kannan바카라s straight face throughout the interview, despite Rautela stretching the limits of possibility of her sound bytes.
Like 바카라hate-watching바카라 and 바카라cringe content바카라 have become a part of mainstream conversation, the audience might be attuned to Rautela바카라s interview in the same way they can바카라t look away from a car crash. 바카라I바카라d read about this study long back,바카라 recounts Dr Chavda, 바카라how people applauded when six high-end cars collided with each other. It바카라s a mindset that exists till date, even though one might not be conscious. People relish the negativity happening to those in positions of privilege.바카라
With 72 million followers on Instagram, it might be more sensible to slot Rautela as an influencer rather than an actor. Singh says it바카라s a no-brainer that brands would want to send someone with her following to Cannes바카라it would be obvious for a publicist to line them up for her. 바카라You need to send her with a make-up artist, a hairstylist and probably a couple of more people. I think the trip can cost between Rs 20-25 lakhs, which is pocket-change for a brand.바카라
The trip could do wonders for her brand equity, which would give her all the more leverage in the immediate future. 바카라How do people like Urvashi make money? By showing up at live events, store openings, maybe a wedding in Kanpur. And they바카라ll call her because she walked on the same red carpet which is known for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone etc.바카라 Singh is confident that the red carpet look alone will translate into many more item numbers at the very least, if not full-fledged film offers. 바카라Just look at how many people are talking about the parrot purse, I don바카라t think as many people are talking about Neeraj Ghaywan바카라s film (Homebound, playing in the Un Certain Regard section, is the only Indian film playing in the festival this year).바카라
But Singh warns that the kind of attention Rautela seeks can also be a slippery slope. 바카라I바카라m sure a lot of people take her for granted, based on her image. And it can be a dangerous line to mind, especially for women.바카라 Dr Chavda points out that one can be self-aware to play the game of humiliating oneself on a daily basis, since it is lucrative in the short-term. 바카라I바카라ve seen reels where a man is dancing badly, or someone is singing screechily. Some might find it funny for a while, but over time I think, there is a loss of dignity.
Dr Vahia suggests that he바카라s often noticed a recurring trait in aspiring Bollywood actors to seek attention, through good or bad means. While some might be in denial about not having made it, there are others who simply decide that they can바카라t afford to fail. 바카라So they concoct parameters to rate themselves highly,바카라 observes Dr Vahia, 바카라which is their way of defending themselves against failure and depression. It바카라s being slightly detached from reality.바카라 Rautela, till very recently, would bestow silly achievements on herself like 바카라First girl from IIT to win Miss Universe바카라, which makes two glaringly erroneous claims바카라considering she바카라s neither from IIT, nor is she a Miss Universe.
Both Dr Chavda and Dr Vahia conclude that provocation as a strategy can work in the short term, but it바카라s unlikely to last for very long. So, while one might be tempted to laugh at Rautela바카라s desperation, Singh suggests that she might know this period is a fleeting aberration. Hence, she might be smarter than we바카라re giving her credit for바카라making hay while the sun shines. For an industry that is notorious for riddling people with debilitating anxiety and insecurity (we saw a recent video of Babil Khan바카라s breakdown), maybe Rautela바카라s delusion and narcissism might be the superpowers that have allowed her to survive in the industry for over 12 years, despite not being inundated with film offers.
바카라Once upon a time, you had to be a film star to represent a brand,바카라 says Singh, 바카라Many brands can바카라t afford to sign Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn or Akshay Kumar. That space has been taken up by the likes of Urvashi Rautela.바카라 However, she also warns that while her grit to survive in an industry is admirable, it doesn바카라t automatically translate to a body of work. 바카라It all boils down to a personal choice. It depends on who one is, what one바카라s desires are. Everyone wants love and attention. Props to whatever she바카라s done, but as much as I바카라d admire her journey, I wouldn바카라t use it as a road-map. Or ask a loved one to follow the same path.바카라
In Cannes, Rautela is busy putting up posts with social media sensation Orry. It seems like she has won for now. But one needs to take a beat and ask: At what cost? And for how long?
