ONLY THE BEST WILL DO…

All over the world, time has changed the definition of beauty, and beauty contests have changed too. Beauty is no longer limited to physical or intrinsic beauty, but it has become a lot more encompassing, including skills, talents, world views, how presentable a person is and overall smartness. People in the world of showbiz were never put through such stress tests, but competition has changed the scenario completely, even in Bangladesh. The largest such platform is the one created by Lux, first as the Lux-Anandadhara Photogenic which later segued into the Lux-Channel i Superstar program, reaching out to tens of millions of Bangladeshis through satellite television. This is definitely the most anticipated event in terms of new talent entering the world of showbiz in Bangladesh, since this is an immense launching pad that shoots newcomers straight to the limelight. As a platform, Lux's Superstar program is massive in almost every sense, the amount of effort and time that goes into its planning and organization is commendable. My guess is that it is also the most well financed event in Bangladesh as well, especially in the media. And correspondingly, over time, the program has become bigger and more luxurious, adding new and more interesting elements. But, and perhaps this is because of our very high expectations, sometimes we do not get the level of skill and talent in the winner that is truly praiseworthy. But this is of course largely a matter of chance, since the organizers can only work with the pool of talent that comes out of Bangladesh. Not all of them can be absolute gems! But I hope the organizers take this into account and further refine their talent hunt and grooming process to produce the very best of future achievers through the superstar program, after all, only then will they be true superstars of Bangladesh who entertain the audience for decades. Above and beyond that, the most important fact is not really which one of the superstars was better than the rest. To me, the most important is that the platform is alive, sustainable, and people know it will keep supporting the media and keep introducing fresh new talent. Those who dream to enter the glitzy world of showbiz have something amazing to look forward to; they have a hope to hang on to, they have fodder for their dreams. That is the biggest contribution of Lux to the media. On a slightly different note, through my work in the media for the last few decades and now through my work in Star Showbiz, I see a very large gap of male talent in the media. We have almost no new promising male performers coming up. Perhaps Lux can also think of a program similar to the superstar program that is aimed at male performers of Bangladesh.