Dreams shattered, many Strugglers in Glamour Industry turn to Crime

Examples:
1) A budding scriptwriter snatches chains to meet his ailing mother's medical expenses.
2) Desperate for a car, a struggling actor forces his wife, also an actor, into prostitution.
3) The case of Rajesh (name changed), a small-time lyricist who was arrested by the Kandivli police on charges of chain-snatching on Sunday, highlighted a dark truth that many young Bollywood aspirants live with. Work in the film industry was elusive and Adagle needed money to pay for his ailing mother's medicines.

His is a story that many Bollywood aspirants or 'strugglers' identify with. Their big-screen dreams shattered, many take to crime to pay the rent or maintain expensive lifestyles to showcase themselves to filmmakers.

Those who have made it after years of struggle say - the main reason is the stress of maintaining the glamour quotient the industry demands. Newcomers often cannot handle the pressure; they drift towards crime to fulfil basic needs like paying the rent of a flat in Lokhandwala Complex. To get famous, people need to show off. For that, they need a constant flow of money. It is not a new phenomenon, but these days there have been more cases involving small-time actors.

The involvement of aspiring actors and models in crime was the result of "accumulative frustration". These people are not very successful; there is always a sense of insecurity. They take to crime thinking that they have been rejected by society. Moreover, once they get a taste of this 'glamour world', they don't want to come out. They would do anything to maintain their lifestyles.

Those who have been through the rejection and frustration on their road to stardom say the pressure is too much to handle. If you don't get to eat one meal a day, it's fine. But you need to wear designer clothes to get noticed. In a party, you have to buy a drink. Even if you stay in a rented house, you have to show off by travelling in a car and joining the best gym in the area. Often newcomers get used and are sucked into crime, often becoming victims themselves.