A JOURNEY to Superstardom

Mamo

Wanting to be loved and be famous is one of the most innate human qualities. We want our names to etch into the minds of millions and our work praised by critics. These wishes and desires also lie in our yet-to-be-discovered star. Growing up, like almost every other Bangladeshi teen, she would stare in wonder at the TV looking at heroines in movies and wonder how they did what they did. She wonders what it takes to muster the courage and dedication required to stand up in front of millions of people and perform. The more the years pass, the more intricate life becomes, but the beatitude of fame and glory never escapes her mind. She yearns for a way to step into the limelight. But, getting your first break, carving out a place and then maintaining it are all extremely difficult feats, especially for someone with little or no preexisting connections to people in the media. She talks to her friends and family for advice and support but the conversations are always vague and hopeless. Everyone persuades her to pursue more realistic goals so that she can lead a good life. But in her mind, the worst thing she could be is ordinary. One day, she catches a glimpse of a billboard.

“Do you have what it takes?” asks the billboard. “Are you a superstar?” How will she know if she doesn't try? She decides to sign up for the Lux-Channel i superstar program. Her life changes forever. She finds hundreds of girls just like her, all following their dreams. How can she rise above them? What will set her apart? She meets all the challenges presented by Lux Channel i Superstar head on. She discovers this is not just some beauty pageant where you stand on stage and look pretty. There is so much more to it than that. She has to go through a grueling training phase where she taught everything from how to stand and walk, table manners, when to talk and when to smile. This is the grooming she had been waiting for. As the show goes on, she says goodbye to a lot of girls who she befriends during this contest. To her utter amazement, she makes it through to the top three; she is a finalist.  When she reaches the final episode, and the final verdict, her heart seems to beat louder than the cheering audience. In those final moments, as the announcer is about to declare the names of the runner's up and the winner, an epiphany hits her. She has already won. She has survived the most challenging process future stars face in Bangladesh, and she is already an icon. She already received her first offer to work with a new and talented director in his next production. The training she has received has changed her completely, and in her heart, looking at the cheering audience, reading the fan mail and messages pouring in from the corners of Bangladesh, she knows that she is already on her way to superstardom.

Bindu

This is very much what happens to the winners and finalists of the Lux-Channel i superstar program. It changes their lives completely. The superstar program is the most aspirational and exciting set of activities for young women of Bangladesh who wish to launch a career in the media. It is not just a talent hunt program or a beauty pageant, but a showcase of creative entertainment centered on beauty and elegance. It looks for women who believe in themselves and is ready for three months of grueling tests that finds their potential and ignites their spark for all to see. Lux has been involved with beauty pageants for almost 50 years. During this time, they have brought many famous names into the limelight. They help not only to promote, but to develop and hone the skills needed to be successful. Star Showbiz presents some of the favourites of the contest below.

JAKIA BARI MAMO
I was nominated in 2006, and Lux-Channel i Superstar has changed my life completely in the most positive of ways. As a platform for teaching participating young women about the media and how to be successful in it, there is no better alternative than the training that Lux provides.

BIDYA SINHA MIM
The Lux-Channel i Superstar platform has enabled me to reach a whole new level. I was nominated in 2007. The training that is provided here is sufficient enough to make any artist successful in her field of work starting from walking, talking to acting skills which comes in very handy later on. I was out of the country and sadly missed it all. My most memorable moment from the Lux Superstar event was when I was being crowned as the winner.

FARIA
To me, Lux is a very big platform to realize the dreams of young women in Bangladesh. I already had some experience being in front of camera since I was in Class 3, but it's because of Lux that people knows me today. I was nominated in 2007. We were taught many things during Lux's grooming process, starting from table manners, and how to sit and walk. We were also taught to act and dance. The objective of the training was so that we became perfectly knowledgeable on how to be presentable in the media. They also enforced strong regularity practices such as walking up early, and infused positive changes into our lifestyles and behavior. I watch the show whenever I get time! This year the show looked so good it was almost as if I was watching a foreign pageant!

MASHIAT
The grooming that I received from Lux has helped me in every area of my life because the things they teach us aren't just about acting, it's about everything. We learnt about how to handle many things and how to carry ourselves. Lux has taught me to be strong and confident about myself. This is because there are things we learn here that we may not have learned if we were living a normal life. If this knowledge is then applied to our lives, it makes everything simpler and better. I was nominated in 2010. The contest this year is going great! I look forward to working with the new stars that will emerge from the Superstar program this year. Meeting Azra apu and Tumpa apu is my most precious memory from back when I was a contestant.