This appeared on GQIndia.com yesterday.
You’d think being a successful Hollywood star would more than suffice to surpass most people’s wildest dreams. Not for James Franco. I was at an event recently where he was promoting a movie (yes, I breathed the same air, and no, I didn’t faint) he’s written, directed and produced, titled The Broken Tower. Incidentally, he plays the lead role. It took me more than a few web searches to believe that he’s not just a charmer, a superstar and “the sexiest man alive” as a popular magazine once declared him. He’s also an author, painter, performance artist, has attended six universities including Columbia and Yale and might enroll for his second PhD next year. All this while working on several big banner movies including one with a certain Ms. Pinto. And hosting the Oscars and volunteering for a charity.
He isn’t the lone contender in the ‘overambitious Hollywood glitterati’ category: there’s Seth MacFarlane and Neil Patrick Harris for starters.
But India, of course, has an answer for these distinguished men. Farhan Akhtar: Filmmaker, script writer, actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer and television host. More recently, Aamir Khan can lay claim to more simultaneous identities than a ventriloquist.
What’s with these talented men with inordinate superhuman qualities that make the rest of them look bad? And how on earth do they have it all? The bottom line is, with some raising the bar so high on overachievement, when have you really ‘arrived’?
Now gentlemen, this is more trouble for the average man than he might fathom. Women look and learn, and by extension apply twisted logic, set up similar expectations from their other halves or boyfriends and demand nothing less. If not writing, then writing cheques for them/their friends and families; if not directing, then cooking; if not producing, then doing repair jobs around the house; if not acting, then acting as a personal chauffer; if not a six pack, then at least sartorially inclined; if not a playback singer, then being able to be the life of a party; if not a comedian then, well, that one is not optional. You get the drift.
So dear men, with deepest sympathies, I suggest you fasten your seatbelt and shift to the fast lane. You’ve just been enrolled into the overachiever race without your consent, and protesting will not work. You might as well enjoy the ride. Don’t be tempted to think it’s it an early-life crisis, and you might get quite get a kick out of where it takes you.
Here's a link to the article on GQIndia.com http://bit.ly/mXqHu8
You’d think being a successful Hollywood star would more than suffice to surpass most people’s wildest dreams. Not for James Franco. I was at an event recently where he was promoting a movie (yes, I breathed the same air, and no, I didn’t faint) he’s written, directed and produced, titled The Broken Tower. Incidentally, he plays the lead role. It took me more than a few web searches to believe that he’s not just a charmer, a superstar and “the sexiest man alive” as a popular magazine once declared him. He’s also an author, painter, performance artist, has attended six universities including Columbia and Yale and might enroll for his second PhD next year. All this while working on several big banner movies including one with a certain Ms. Pinto. And hosting the Oscars and volunteering for a charity.
He isn’t the lone contender in the ‘overambitious Hollywood glitterati’ category: there’s Seth MacFarlane and Neil Patrick Harris for starters.
But India, of course, has an answer for these distinguished men. Farhan Akhtar: Filmmaker, script writer, actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer and television host. More recently, Aamir Khan can lay claim to more simultaneous identities than a ventriloquist.
What’s with these talented men with inordinate superhuman qualities that make the rest of them look bad? And how on earth do they have it all? The bottom line is, with some raising the bar so high on overachievement, when have you really ‘arrived’?
Now gentlemen, this is more trouble for the average man than he might fathom. Women look and learn, and by extension apply twisted logic, set up similar expectations from their other halves or boyfriends and demand nothing less. If not writing, then writing cheques for them/their friends and families; if not directing, then cooking; if not producing, then doing repair jobs around the house; if not acting, then acting as a personal chauffer; if not a six pack, then at least sartorially inclined; if not a playback singer, then being able to be the life of a party; if not a comedian then, well, that one is not optional. You get the drift.
So dear men, with deepest sympathies, I suggest you fasten your seatbelt and shift to the fast lane. You’ve just been enrolled into the overachiever race without your consent, and protesting will not work. You might as well enjoy the ride. Don’t be tempted to think it’s it an early-life crisis, and you might get quite get a kick out of where it takes you.
Here's a link to the article on GQIndia.com http://bit.ly/mXqHu8
