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Just skin deep

Is money spent on beauty treatments well spent or a criminal waste? Mini Anthikad-Chhibber finds out

DON'T HAVE IT? FAKE IT! Tinsel town's obsession with youth and beauty seems to have caught on with the rest of society PHOTO: REUTERS

Demi Moore, the patron saint of Fabulous at Forty (with a little help from surgeons and Botox), has decided to let go and let it all hang out. Wonder what toy boy Ashton Kutcher would have to say as Ms. Moore's body finally buckles to the laws of gravity?

All of us marvelled at Demi when she appeared bright, toned, nipped and tucked as fallen angel Madison in Charlie's Angels 2. We collectively gasped at the wonders that money and science could buy, as she emerged from the ocean in her introduction scene in her itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny bikini, looking literally a million bucks.

Agreed, tinsel town is obsessed with youth and one can always shrug it off with the "that's showbiz" theory. Remember the wicked Robert Zemeckis morality tale Death Becomes Her (1992) where rivals in love Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn drink the potion of youth, becoming increasingly brittle and have to go to mortician (and the object of their affection) Bruce Willis for touch-ups?

"Cinema and the world of glamour are all about escapism, right?" asks Sandeep, a physicist. "Ageing reminds one of the march of time and death that is inevitable. So, basically all these enhancements and surgeries are a way of cheating time and death." Oooh. Is that metaphysical or what?

So we have our little giggles about Michael Jackson's face coming apart and repress a shudder at Cindy Jackson who, with 46 operations, is Britain's most surgically enhanced woman and then console ourselves with "These foreigners are crazy!"

Age gracefully

Pooja Bedi, brand ambassador for Kaya Skin Clinic, says, "No one wants to look like a prune at 60. I have an expressive face and I had these huge, deep, wrinkles on my forehead. And so I got botox done and now my forehead is smooth. I don't think it is shallow to obsess about how one looks. What is wrong with using the best money can buy to look good?"

Everyone subscribes to the feel-good aspect. Beauty queen Niharika Singh says: "It is an individual choice and if it makes one feel better, then why not?"

A thought echoed by Chairperson of the Children's Film Society Nafisa Ali, herself a former Ms. India, who refuses to dye her gloriously grey hair: "I am too scared to do anything like that but if people feel better about how they look with a procedure, then I guess it is okay."

For actress Perizaad Zorabian, Nafisa is a role model. "I do not have the courage to do any of these procedures. I would love to age gracefully like Nafisa Ali. I like beauty that comes with age."

Not just women

And it is not only women who are going in for procedures to make them look good. Kumar, 45, who deals in pharmaceuticals, says: "Exercise keeps the body young but I looked old as my face was sagging and had a double chin. A facelift is a good thing if you want to look presentable. I consider it money well spent."

Not everybody is impressed though. As Sheeja (30), an HR worker with Intel, says: "Exercise is the best option. My friend went in for all these treatments and it has made no difference. It is a waste of money."

There are those who feel it is money well spent and others who think it is a criminal waste.

"Just keep yourself busy and see your skin glow and your health improve," says A. Jacob, ex-serviceman who barely has time what with teaching and writing books. "As long as you are occupied, you are contributing to society in a positive way and confidence comes automatically."

Sane advice. But how many worshipping at the altar of appearance are willing to give it a shot?

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