It’s a 21st century sales pitch for a movie that hasn’t reached the big screen yet. Even before Prakash Jha’s film Apaharan was to launch, its stars were out there in cyberspace, spilling the beans about life on the sets. There’s the luscious Bipasha Basu telling film buffs about her side of the story. But those who want to hear more can also click to Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar and Dr Mohan Agashe and the director himself, who have all been blogging away furiously to sell the movie.

Is this a publicity stunt to draw in viewers and fans? The short answer is yes. Says Jha, “The hype and awareness created through our blogs did help the film eventually.”

“In blogland, you have like-minded people and I like the entire idea of writing and people commenting.” — Milind Deora

Every blogger knows that it can be lonely out there in cyberspace. You bang out your words of wisdom, watch them waft off into the ether and wonder if anyone out there appreciates the literary struggle that has gone into it all. But it’s a different story if you happen to be a celebrity, living in the limelight and enjoying more than your 10 seconds of fame. So if you happen to be Bipasha Basu, (www.bipashabasu.rediffblogs.com), it’s hardly a surprise if you get some 268 comments in the feedback box ? even if many are, shall we say, more than a bit suggestive.

Blogging is the newest sport of our Internet Age and it shouldn’t be surprising to find that the beau monde, the beautiful people and the momentarily famous, are taking to the Net. At one level, there are writers like Ashok Banker, Chetan Bhagat and Deepak Chopra. At another, there are politicians like Milind Deora and actors like Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Anupam Kher, Rahul Khanna, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and yes, the King Khan himself (even though the actor has posted just one post on his film Paheli). And celebrities who count can make their thoughts known on intentblog.com, the blog site set up by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and spirituality guru-author Deepak Chopra.

The fact is that everyone goes on the Net for different reasons. Apaharan’s blog was purely a public relations exercise. But there can be everything from day to day accounts of the individual’s life to their social activities, from personal musings on politics to the promotion of charity organisations.

“A blog for me is a blank page where you can express anything. So I intend to keep writing...” — Rahul Khanna

There are others like Intentblog which attempts to make meaningful comment ? from celebs ? about the state of the nation and the world at large. The Intent Blog’s stated purpose is “to present original voices on and from Asia and India to inspire, stimulate and engage a dialogue about new paradigms of creativity, communication, and fulfillment”. That might sound like the position paper for a summit or some other weighty intellectual effort but it’s worth a look. There’s a Who’s Who of commentators, who all want to make a point.

Says Rahul Bose, “The intent (pun intended) behind Intent was interesting. It was to speak on social, political and environmental issues without becoming a masala blog.” Bose has posted comments on subjects like the Mumbai floods and the post-Tsunami work in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The actor, who doesn’t normally read too many blogs, was once moved by an Iraqi blogger’s account of the days of the American invasion.

“I am sure mine will not match the intensity of that blog, but it will be more of a kind of diary of my work as an actor and screenplay writer, my involvement in social issues and my continuing pleasure and pain-filled adventures as a member of the Indian rugby team,” says Bose.

“There’s a difference in tone between blogs of authors, film stars and musicians. You can almost pick on it,” — Chetan Bhagat

Do celebrity bloggers offer enough tidbits to entertain fans and non-fans alike? The answer to that is usually not. So fans going online may be in for a disappointment. Most celebs refuse to provide fodder for gossip. Says actor Rahul Khanna, “Why do we have such a strong need for intimate and sensational details about others? For some reason, we need to feel like we have all the facts, even facts that are not rightfully ours to have.”

Bose agrees, “I wouldn’t like to lay my personal life open for the public to view. I do not make it a habit otherwise as well, so why should I do it on the blog?”

Politician Milind Deora who started posting on economic and political affairs of the country on Intent Blog, says he has no issues when it comes to writing about himself. He says, “If I had the time, I wouldn’t mind doing it. In Blogland, you have like-minded people and I like the entire idea of writing and people commenting.”

“We imagine we are having conversations with a celebrity, even though they are virtual ones.” — Dr Mohan Agashe

Inevitably, public relations is part of the blogosphere but even that can work differently depending on how it’s done. Apaharan’s was a bit too transparent in parts. Bipasha Basu’s blog, for instance, gets extremely predictable in places: “Prakash Jha is fantastic. He makes great cinema. His subjects are always a little political, but they are also interesting...He’s a good director and a fabulous person.” In other parts, the actress waxes on about how wonderful everything on the sets was and how brilliant her director and co-actors were. It’s not difficult to spot the public relations machine rolling on. Jha also admits that the actors spoke into a tape-recorder. “Their tapes were recorded and maybe someone posted on their behalf. But nothing on the blog went without their knowledge,” he says.

Nevertheless, some filmmakers have made intelligent use of the blogosphere. The promotion blog for the film The Rising (http://spaces.msn.com/members/mangalpandey/), for instance, had lead actor Aamir Khan responding to comments and taking part in the blog which made all the difference.

Even Jha is keen to do more than public relations. He insists that the interactiveness of the medium holds the main attraction. And though his first blog (www.prakashjha.rediffblogs.com) is for the promotion of his film, he also speaks on the related social issue of kidnapping. The topic has garnered hits by the minute. “I would sit for well over an hour and respond to all the comments. People reacted, positively or negatively, to my involvement in Bihari politics,” he says.

Move away from the actors and look at a slightly different group, writers who are dealing, after all, in their natural currency ? words. For the writers, the blog is just another outlet for their creative juices. Through their posts, fans can remain updated about their books, as well as having the luxury of getting to know the authors of the books they carry to bed and bath.

“I would sit for well over an hour and respond to all the comments. People reacted, positively or negatively, to my involvement in Bihari politics.” — Prakash Jha

“There’s a difference in tone between blogs of authors, film stars and musicians. You can almost pick on it,” says banker-author Chetan Bhagat who started his own blog after the birth of his twin sons. It was called My Two New Bosses, referring to the new arrivals in his hearth. “I wanted some attention too. My wife was getting all of it otherwise,” he jests.

The release of his second book One Night @ the Call Centre saw Bhagat chatting about his book with visitors to the blog. “It certainly did help in notching up the popularity of the book,” says Bhagat who has decided to take a break from the blogosphere. “Sometimes the popularity gets a bit out of control and also, there is the always that pressure to write something that would appeal to the readers,” he explains. Bhagat now plans to play moderator to a group of young writers in a new blog.

The writer of books such as Passport Photos, Bombay-London-New York and Husband of a Fanatic, Amitava Kumar has his own blog where he writes funny pieces. Check out the open letter from Lalu Prasad Yadav to George Bush (www.amitavakumar.blogsome.com). If humorous impersonal topics are Kumar’s forte, the personal tone marks Manjula Padmanabhan’s blog (www.margin alien.blogspot.com) where the writer and cartoonist talks on anything and everything ? from her childhood perceptions about the ‘curls’ on Buddha’s head to nostalgic memories of her father. But Padmanabhan herself refuses to be called a celebrity. “Very few people come to my blog anyway and for myself, I visit very few blogs ? only the ones you can see on my link,” she says.

But it’s a fact that many celebrities want to make their views known on subjects that go beyond their day-to-day work. Jha, for instance, wants to talk, “about my social and political involvements and sometimes my films”.

But he has a warning for readers not to expect any sensational stuff from him. “Neither do I have the interest nor the time to write about my personal affairs. I start work at 8 am and finish only at 10 at night,” says Jha. Some like Banker refuse to talk about their blog altogether. “It’s something private. I am not ready to talk in mainstream media about blogosphere,” he says.

Perhaps the Indian stars should study what their counterparts in Hollywood are up to. There’s sensationalism galore. Like Wil Wheaton’s blog and the 30-something actor’s take on being axed from his cameo role in the Star Trek film, although film producer Rick Berman insisted that it wasn’t personal. “I laugh silently,” Wheaton wrote on his blog at www.wilwheaton.net. “When I don’t get a part, or a call back, or get cut from a movie, it never has anything to do with me. Like a sophomore romance. ‘It’s not you. It’s me. I’ve met Jimmy Kimmel’s cousin, and things just happened.’”

But who says only gossip can keep readers hooked on to celebrity blogs? Take a look at Rahul Khanna’s posts on Intent blog. He writes on everything from murdering cockroaches, his favourite books and music to his computer hard drive. Without being intensely personal and yet talking on normal everyday things, his tone is funny and friendly. Sample this. Khanna blogs thus on ‘weighty issues’: “We’re all obsessed with weight. The west is obsessed with losing it. On the subcontinent, we’re obsessed with commenting on it. It’s a national pastime...”

However, blogging involves a commitment. And celebrity diaries come and go. Most don’t stick with it long enough to make their blogs compelling reading. But a few do it very well. Bose wants to be in the latter category. “Right now I am shooting in Munnar where there is no internet connectivity. I intend to post soon and keep it at least a once-in-a-month affair. There’s hardly any time,” he says.

Khanna is suffering from “blogstipation” at the moment. “A blog for me is a blank page where you can express anything. So I intend to keep writing even though I don’t have enough to say to start my own URL,” he says.

Actor and psychiatrist Dr Mohan Agashe, who blogged for the sake of Apaharan, insists that blogging is a luxury for those who are “rich in time”. According to him, celebrity blogs are popular because they make “people feel important”. He says: “We imagine we are having conversations with a celebrity, even though they are virtual ones.”

“The lives of public figures will always be of interest because we can look through the window on their world to see a different, more ‘glamorous’ life than the one we are living. But it also depends on whether the blog is genial,” adds the psychiatrist.

So no longer do you need to play Peeping Tom to get the latest scoop on your favourite celebrities. Just let blogosphere take over.

Illustration by Suman Choudhury