Windjammer
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2009
- Messages
- 41,319
- Reaction score
- 181
- Country
- Location
Mission: Mercenary Indian Fans Paid to Greet Tom Cruise?
Of the slew of Hollywood stars to have visited India, Tom Cruise arguably the biggest name in the movie industry was one of the most eagerly anticipated. So it wasnt surprising that he was greeted by a mob of frenzied fans when he arrived at Mumbai Airport on Saturday as part of his promotional tour for the fourth film in the Mission: Impossible series. But the banner-waving welcome party might not have been as genuine as it looked.
According to reports, the 200 or so people gathered outside the airport werent simply there to catch a glimpse of Hollywood royalty they were there to earn a quick buck. These fans were allegedly paid 150 rupees ($2.90) and given a free lunch in return for cheering the actor, who some didnt even recognize.
Tom kaun [who]? I dont know who he is or what he does. We were told to come here by 1pm today and wait for a foreign VIP to come out of the airport gate and scream and shout when he came, Network 18s FirstPost.com website quoted a junior artiste as saying.
This artiste added that such arrangements were not uncommon. We do this for television shows and other such events where crowds are required.
A report in the Mumbai Mirror claimed that Mr. Cruises event managers had appointed an agency that specialized in arranging crowds for celebrity events. Noting that the time of Mr. Cruises arrival had not been made public (for real Indian fans), the report said crowd members were paid 200-400 rupees, depending on experience (yes, we were also unaware there was a career-ladder in this field.)
Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., the organizers of Mr. Cruises trip, rejected the reports.
Paid fans? The media will sensationalize anything and everything for attention, a Wizcraft spokeswoman told India Real Time. We are not aware of any such arrangement, she said.
Viacom 18, the India distributors of Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, declined to comment.
Ravi Sharma, director of Vibes Entertainment, an agency that specializes in celebrity events, said hiring crowds was a rather routine affair. He told IRT that the hired motley was paid depending on the social stature of the celebrity and duration of the gathering.
A nominal sum of 150 rupees to 500 rupees is more than enough to make a students day, Mr. Sharma said, adding that agencies maintain a network across schools and colleges to stage gatherings as speedily as possible. A staged crowd is better behaved and easily controllable Further, you wont have to go through the trouble of driving them away once the celebrity leaves.
Nevertheless, he was surprised about the fans allegedly hired to greet Mr. Cruise. B-grade Bollywood actors are usually welcomed by paid fans. But for event organizers to put Tom Cruise in the same category shocking.
