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Robert Vadra, your bad boy days are over

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Kanika Gahlaut
Kanika GahlautNov 04, 2014 | 13:27

Robert Vadra, your bad boy days are over

Robert Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

A day after the Congress old guard came out in defence of prince-in-law Robert Vadra's by now famous "are you serious? are you serious? are you serious?" rant against a journalist, not to mention actually having security seize his equipment, the verdict is clear on the episode: this simply won't do.

Public opinion has by and large not supported the Congress in its rush to defend Vadra as a private citizen and his act of intimidation of a media crew as a case of media intrusion into his privacy.

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Perhaps, sensing the pubic perception, a whole day after the old guard - Digvijaya Singh's Twitter ode to the son-in-law to Randeep Surjewala's statements which painted Mr Vadra as the victim of paparazzi like attention - party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit finally came out and while making the case for Vadra, also added: "but basic civility must be maintained."

It may be a small softening in stance for a party, but a big step for Delhi.

For too long, Delhi has been the capital of excess. Liberalisation and media growth - including the advent of page 3 and supplements - brought this excess out in the open. Vadra symbolises the rise and fall of the crowd that took advantage of this boom - the beautiful people who went out, flaunted their labels and their connections, used speed dial to cross that velvet rope or get the table at Machan. Rohit Bal and his group of merry men danced, bare torso, atop a table at a fashion week post party till the cops came. Midnight raids led to recovery of cocaine stashes and lists of cocaine users. The booze flowed, the photos were printed faithfully. Overnight stars were born and idolised.

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Times have changed. The media attention got its subjects their five minutes of fame then, but media moves on. As internet readership changes patterns, the old days are no longer what they are. A new political correctness no longer make displays of bad behaviour cool. While "paid media" in page 3 reporting is a separate industry issue, it also is, in a way a professionalised - and perhaps more democratic - use of the space where anyone with the money can buy it, irrespective of lineage. "Do you know who I am?" the famous boast of New Delhi, is certainly not in the past, but ways of showing it have become less feudal, more sophisticated.

But people like Vadra are stuck in a timezone - as was glaringly evident at his performance at the Ashoka health club event. His shocked response to a real question at a page 3 event displayed a needless arrogance and sense of entitlement to glorification that seemed almost surreal, and out of sync with the times.

It's time to ask - are the days of Delhi's famous bad boys numbered?

Last updated: November 04, 2014 | 13:27
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