In India’s media ecosystem, superstars' hesitation at airports security is headline gold—while a protest march demanding the very sanctity of our voters’ rolls is page crumbs.

Take the case of Allu Arjun. A CISF officer simply asked him to remove his sunglasses and mask for ID verification.

He initially hesitated, complied, and the video went viral—fan loops, reaction GIFs, moral outrage, and everything in between.

A national conversation erupted: “Rules are for all,” “A star must lead by example,” “Was that an attitude?”

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Meanwhile, back in reality: the Election Commission launched a “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls just before elections, demanding onerous documents—even rejecting Aadhaar and ration cards.

Migrants, the poor, marginalised communities—many lack any of the 11 acceptable IDs.

Critics warned of disenfranchisement of millions. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, marched, were briefly detained, and called the move “vote theft” and “attack on the Constitution.”

Why? Because celebrities come with ready-to-eat drama: visual, emotional, sleek. Institutional inertia, legal nuance, and suppressed protests? They’re slow news; unprofitable; demanding investigative calories rather than click snacks.

Until newsrooms wake up, we’ll keep devoting front-page real estate to mask-off moments while democracy’s marathons fail to clear the editorial sprint. And that’s the real scandal.

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