The new breed of Bollywood YAWNs

YAWNs stands for 'Young And Wealthy but Normal'It's amazing really. But plenty of today's stars and celebrities are heading towards becoming YAWNs. Surprised? Frankly, I'm not. For as a society or industry evolves, grows and becomes recognised and successful, the people associated with those successes tend to become YAWNs.
Herein lies the catch. YAWNs isn't what we think it is.It's doesn't stand for the boring, the sublime or the ridiculous. It's not a boring reaction to 'sleepy' stars or of 'sleepy' stars. YAWNs is a new term that I first read about in The Guardian of London. Then again in The Wall Street Journal. And it's becoming a widespread word across the USA and the UK.
YAWNs stands for 'Young And Wealthy but Normal'. It's a word that's displaced the 80s word 'Yuppies' (Young Urban Professionals), the 90s BOBOs (Bohemian Bourgeois) and DINKs (Double Income No Kids). The article goes on to say that YAWNs are the superrich, super famous elite who live normal, even boringly routine lives and use their growing wealth towards good causes - like charity and philanthropy.
And unlike the past products of multi-millionaires and billionaire status, who liked to splurge on yachts, jets and opulent lifestyles alone, the new breed not only live a comfy lifestyle, they also quietly live a dual, no-so-decadent life - helping the lesser privileged .
Apparently, the 'patron saint' of the new class is Bill gates himself. A man who lives in a 40,000 square feet home and has the best of the best - yet does silent charity and helps millions.
There aren't many movie stars in the Hollywood YAWNs list so far. Of course, Richard Gere, Angelina Jolie and Penelope Cruz top the list of stars who unstintingly work with the poor and the ill, using their star status to bring an awareness to raise funds, contribute their own wealth towards charity and don't charge a dime for their services.
They see this as a 'giving back' to society to help it grow. It's a relatively new trend in the west - but in eastern, especially eastern cultures, it's always been a way of life. So we're not surprised. Hinduism and Buddhism have encouraged a giving of alms and helping the needy for ever. Jain saints and leaders and followers preach and practice the good, clean way of living. Islam advocates zakat (charity) as a way of life. Christianity and Judaism say the same.
But celebrities in the West is only now waking up to the 'giving ' culture. It fills me with pride to look at our stars who tirelessly practice being givers to society.
Amitabh Bachchan has propagated the awareness of polio drops, almost eradicating the disease. Aishwarya donated her eyes to some soul without vision proving she's more beautiful inside than ever. Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar do so much silent charity and support so many organisations; it's difficult to list them here.
Aamir, Salman, Sunny Deol, Madhuri, Preity, Rani, John, Bipasha, Saif and Suniel Shetty work with the Thalasemmic Society, AIDs foundations, Save the Children groups; even as plenty other stars supportive of the 'Make a Wish' foundation, the Cancer Society and many children's hospitals. Stars like Hrithik, Salman spend endlessly from their own pockets even. And I remember, after the Tsunami, the first celeb cheques were from Hrithik, Juhi Chawla and Ash.
These are stars who love their families, live normal, boring even, lives but we love them - just for being YAWNs.
Views expressed by columnists in Bombay Times are their own, and not that of the paper