The Grass is Greener...

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">Did he or didn''t he? Only the sniffer dogs at Abu Dhabi airport can tell for sure. P K Dubey aka Vijay Raaz, is cooling his heels in a clink far away from home. While nervous colleagues are busy issuing cautious statements about the actor''s ''clean'' record, his distressed wife has been on countless TV channels talking about her husband''s impeccable conduct and drug-free life.Alas, such are the laws in Abu Dhabi, none of these well-intentioned character certificates are likely to get the talented actor off the hook. <br /><br />Twenty-five grams of grass are all it took to change the Raaz''s destiny. As of now, nothing else matters - not even his track record as a character artist who''d earned the maximum taalis in Mira Nair''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Monsoon Wedding</span> playing a greasy, marigold-chewing, marriage mandap contractor. Vijay Raaz has steadily built up quite an impressive fan following as a chameleon-like actor, who could effortlessly take on the colours of any roles assigned to him - including that of a Romeo. Today, as he languishes in jail, he must be reviewing his life and asking himself if two sticks of marijuana, allegedly found on him, were worth the horrendous prospect of spending seven years as a jail bird in the Middle East.<br /><br />Drugs, sex and rock-n-roll have been showbiz mantras much before they became an anthem for ''Seventies Rockers'' from the Wicked West. But here, the rampant use (and abuse) of an entire cocktail of readily available drugs still remains one of Bollywood''s best-kept secrets. Nearly everybody is smoking, sniffing, snorting, even shooting up. Stars, star wives, technicians, directors, designers, make-up people, producers, those on the fringes of the film industry, you name it, they''re doing it. Stories abound, of top-bracket actors unable to give the next shot unless they''re sufficiently ''energised''. <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Most trot out that old excuse - We lead such an unnatural, stressed-out existence, we can''t be blamed for depending on substance to get us through. An honest and accurate statement of fact. But hey - a better alibi is needed for our sympathy vote. Does nobody bother to tell these folks that there is always a downside to living life in the fast track? If they can''t handle the pace, they should either cut-back or cut loose. Old timers point out that earlier generations of film people drowned their tension in alcohol. The current one prefers grass. The implication being, ''Ganja is better, booze hurts''. Raaz''s contemporaries might agree. Ganja, they claim, is less harmful, all it does is let you waft on a mellow haze without the ugly descent into hell that is the inevitable fate of those who need their quota of six <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">chhotas</span> a night.<br /><br />While Madhur Bhandarkar''s brutal film, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Page</span> <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">3</span> turns the spotlight on a certain segment of urban society, indulging in doing lines at a trendy rave party, what he has not addressed with equal candour is his own fraternity''s abject dependence on the white stuff. It ''snows'' in Bollywood 24X7. And yet, everybody is in collective denial. It snows in Hollywood too. But the price paid by anyone who gets busted, is so high, most stars routinely indulge in party drugs using more stealth than crack terrorists on an undercover mission. <br /><br />But here in Bollywood, the ball game in entirely different. Our stars know they''ll be able to talk/buy their way out of a tricky situation. After Fardeen Khan got busted a few years ago, his stock went shooting up overnight. He signed new movies, became a much-in-demand brand ambassador, and was hailed as a symbol of ''cool''. Poor Vijay Raaz. He, alas, is no Fardeen Khan. Or even, a minor-league star. He''s only a small-time actor who may have foolishly bought into the Bollywood lifestyle. Nobody is likely to bail him out, if the charges are proved. He''ll soon be forgotten, like so many others, who didn''t quite cut it in the big league. Bechara P K Dubey. The new diet clearly didn''t suit him. From marigolds to grass. Bad for digestion. What a comedown. </div> </div>