Why I have stopped “Hero Worship”

The Halo Effect

 This is a story that I have really wanted to tell for many years, that perfectly illustrates how Maya creates “halos” and “distortions” around public figures images to the point that not only their followers but they themselves start believing in those “myths”

They say – Never meet your heroes. While it is not true for everyone, it is indeed true for a significant percentage of people we idolize. I know because I have met many during the creation of my movie/documentary Carve Your Destiny.

While working on this movie aimed at “inspiring” and educating the youth, over a course of many years I interviewed several prominent personalities across various fields, both in India and Internationally.

These people ranged from media figures, sports stars, scientists, famous public servants, businesspeople, musicians, journalists, politicians, social activists and the list goes on.

I admit that I myself was blinded by survivorship bias, that I talked about earlier so I assumed that because they were successful, everything they say must be correct, and they alone would know the path to “success.”

Over many years, the fates of many of these own figures went through a roller coaster, showing that often there are many factors beyond simplistic advice that decide where one ends up, and that too is transient. The one who maybe “successful” this year, may completely experience a fortune reversal in a few years.

But this is not what I want to talk about here. I want to talk about the “Halo Effect” or this whole notion that the public has that just because someone is very successful, everything they say or do is automatically the right thing, WITHOUT question.

On top of that, if someone is very successful and ALSO has a “humble” public image, the public starts treating them no less than a Jesus or Buddha, as if there is an aura of enlightenment or “halo” that emits out of their bodies. If anyone dares to raise any opposition towards the same, they invite the wrath of the “devotees”

One such EXTREMELY POPULAR Indian figure, known for his significant contributions to national development and widely respected for his humility, initially agreed to participate.

This Individual could literally be considered a legendary figure in his field who indeed, at the time, was seen in the eyes of the public, as someone so great that NOTHING they said could be questioned.

I can’t name the person outright, or their fanboys may create headaches for me. I’ve got enough headaches in life, don’t need another one.

However, smart people can deduce the name of this person, through some “reverse engineering.” Consider this a treasure hunt of sorts 😉

Over their career, thanks to many lucky breaks, (but of course they only credited their hard work, as if no one else could work harder) this Individual rose to the top of their field, although, today many question whether the person actually meaningfully contributed enough, or just happened to get all the attention, overshadowing many other deserving people.

My research has revealed that not only did the gentleman did not have the ACTUAL credentials to make them a serious figure in their field, his colleagues themselves revealed that even his fundamental knowledge of what he was claiming to publicly be was shaky at best.

Before writing a controversial segment like this, I decided that I myself should not be blinded by any biases, so I recently went through all his books. Objectively speaking, they were mediocre and mostly filled with surface level inspiration at best, with absolutely nothing in them that indicated that he was genius that everyone considers him to be.

I have read books of true geniuses like Schopenhauer, Einstein, Vivekananda and countless other people. I can assure you when you read the work of a TRUE genius, you know it INSTANTLY because of how remarkable it is.

Furthermore, I am not implying a work of genius has to sound complex.  A work written by a genius can be communicated in simple language as well. But his books indicated nothing of this sort either.

So why did he succeed? Because I believe he was generally a humble, likeable but also SUPREMELY LUCKY yes-man, for the system.

Anyway, let’s go back to 2008, when I myself was a fool. Or at least far more foolish than I am today. Back in those days though, this gentleman was literally one of the “top guys” in the country. So, like everyone else, I too considered him a genius and humble, almost “Buddha” like figure.

When I first contacted them, I was asked to meet their secretary.

 His staff, who, contrary to his reputed demeanor, displayed moments of rudeness and disrespect, almost straight away. I was used to this though, over the years of trying to independently interview “celebrities’” staff so I ignored it and pressed on.

I explained and submitted my request. Within a few days, after following up with his office I was told he had agreed to meet me, but with the caveat, that I could ONLY meet him to explain the concept, but not conduct ANY interview. No video cameras would be allowed and they would be taken away, if I brought them.

Me being a young guy who had idolized this person for many years, even though I wanted to interview him, I thought at least I was getting a chance to meet him and upon explaining the concept, I would convince him.

To his credit, he indeed behaved in a humble manner and listened to what I had to say. In the end he said he liked the concept and LITERALLY PROMISED to be a part of the film.

I came back excited. Then I waited, and waited, and waited to hear from his office. There was no response. Weeks went by and finally his secretary responded by saying he had decided NOT to do a video interview, but I could do a written interview.

This made no sense. I was making a film, a visual medium, and he knew it. Everyone who appears in a documentary has to speak on camera, it made no sense as to how I could incorporate a written interview in a visual medium. Would I post his words on the screen, as other interviews spoke on camera?

I reminded his secretary that this was infeasible and he had promised to appear in the film on camera, during our meeting. I was not given a responded to for many days again and refused.

This gentleman spoke all over India and even the world, obviously giving interviews on camera. This gentleman travelled all over to “inspire” people with his speeches, so clearly, he wasn’t camera shy.

Furthermore, a documentary, especially one that is structured in a powerful story like format once made has the potential to inspire people for decades or even more.

 Instead of personally going all over and speaking everywhere one by one, just appearing once in a film like this would ensure his message to the young generation would be recorded permanently.

He perhaps doubted that this film would do his public image any good. But I still do not understand why. I was not writing for some tabloid, I did not belong to any media outlet, I did not belong to any political party, I was just a student trying to create a film that ensure these role models’ “wisdom” would be recorded permanently on camera for generations to come.

On top of that, everyone I had interviewed before him were also respected personalities, not controversial ones, so how exactly, appearing on camera was going to hurt his image, but a written interview in a visual film made sense??

It was then that I realized that unlike the persona that this gentleman portrayed where it looked like he wanted to inspire the future generations, in reality he was simply obsessed with his public image.

I have met and studied enough people to realize that while some people might not be obsessed with wealth, a lot of these “humble”, “godlike” celebrities are highly obsessed with their public image, to the point of PARANOIA.

When I pressed on for a while, requesting another meeting to explain why appearing on the camera was necessary in this film, I was refused.

After a few months when I finally politely expressed my disappointment at this fiasco his secretary LITERALLY shouted at me and insulted me.

At that point, I decided it was not worthwhile pursuing this meeting anymore. But I did promise myself that I would tell this story at some point in the future, and thus it is here, in this book, after 15 years.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to have a positive image but the behavior he displayed could ultimately be classified as – Making false commitments, being extremely obsessed with their public image and displaying extreme paranoia around it. – all hardly signs of a “Godlike” person.

Even today, if I name him, his fanboys are going to jump on me, refuse to see anything wrong in what he did, so it’s not worth naming him.

But what I want you remember is that there is often A BIG divide in how these “Gandhi-like” celebrities pretend to be and how they really are.

The media plays a crucial role in crafting the narratives around public figures. Often, media portrayal focuses on a few salient qualities that are easy to communicate and understand, such as charitable activities, public speeches, or other high-visibility actions. This selective portrayal can enhance the halo effect.

Many prominent figures have teams dedicated to managing their public image, which can involve highlighting certain aspects of their personality or accomplishments to create a particularly favorable image. Perhaps this is what his entire image was about.

The only thing I want to say is that he should have just said no when I met him the first time, or refused to meet at all, saving me tremendous amounts of time, energy and avoiding the ensuing frustration that went on for months.

He may have lost nothing, but I lost yet another role model in my life.

“Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist” – George Carlin