Paris Hilton may be the ultimate exhibitionist but eventually,her fame and celebrity status say more about us than it does about her. How does a widely acknowledged airhead and party girl who starred in her own porn video and is the favourite punch line for jokes on late-night television,get elevated to such exalted heights of celebrityhood? Paris Hilton just happens to have been born with the proverbial silver spoon but she's used it to scoop the cream off the celebrity platter. She is essentially the ultimate product of today's entertainment journalism where women who indulge in scandalous behaviour,party hard and constantly and have a sexy body and pretty face are a permanent invitation to magazine covers and paparazzi obsession. No one else fulfills the criteria of being famous for being famous like she does. Nor is she,as her Mumbai visit showed,just tabloid fodder. No one in mainstream media can ignore her either,however much they may disapprove of her notoriety and blatant self-promotion. Which probably lies at the core of what makes Paris Hilton such a unique celebrity. Her singular talent is self-promotion. She has used her celebrity status to come up with a best-selling single,launched her own jewellery and perfume line,acted in a Hollywood movie and a forgettable TV serial,has a best-selling book,a nightclub chain,and commands $100,000 to show up at a restaurant opening. Her fame is incremental,one thing leading to another,her latest being the Paris Hilton handbags she was in Mumbai to launch. Yet,her fame is also connected to a decadent lifestyle,drunken brawls,a succession of sexcapades,vapid statements and an air of carefully cultivated superiority. In her case,it somehow translates into commercial opportunity. What gives her a veneer of credibility is that she is the great granddaughter of Conrad Hilton,the hotel magnate. Growing up rich made it easier for her to gain permanent nightclub membership till she hit on the perfect formula for success. She would find fortune and fame by doing what she did best: being Paris Hilton. It required no great IQ or a business degree,just a penthouse in Los Angeles,luxury cars and red-carpet appearances,rubbing YSL shoulders with movie stars,no-limit credit cards and non-stop parties. Being a blond bombshell with a YouTube-endorsed sex life added to the allure. It was a 21st Century Fairy Tale that came together in the age of tabloid journalism and entertainment-based cable networks,even if it was tough to differentiate between Cinderella or the wicked stepsisters. That is actually key to her self-promotion: the worse she behaves,the bigger she gets. That is both the mystery and the mystique of the Paris Hilton show. At one level,she is deserving of scorn and ridicule. Here's the mystery: why then is she so ubiquitous? Most of us will mock Ms Hilton in public but given a chance,we will all love to be in her circle,if only to taste the forbidden fruit and,more importantly,be able to boast about it to our own circle. The guests invited to share space with her at the Mumbai nightclub and private parties represented high-profile achievers from every field. For every occasion,she showed up at least two hours late yet no one walked out or complained. It was the hottest ticket in a town where celebrities are a dime a dozen. Paris Hilton may be the ultimate exhibitionist but eventually,her fame and celebrity status says more about us than it does about her.
