Style or Substance ?
- Both.
???
I like people who have some ‘depth’ in their words and actions, people with views that hold some ‘weight’; in other words, people with ‘Substance’.
Mostly such people can be inferred to have a logical and analytical bent of mind, with a precise and practical approach to getting things done. They can also be categorized as people who value the destination as the ultimate goal, even if it means missing out on the joys of the journey.
I shall make no bones about the fact that I hold an equal admiration for persons on the other end of the spectrum – people of STYLE. They’re the ones who’re endowed with a gift of weaving magic out of thin air. Like those who can go on talking for hours together(even though their message could’ve been conveyed in 2 sentences), and still end up in getting an applause from their audiences, all simply by virtue of their ‘Style’. These people have an artistic bent of mind, and mostly have a vague and dreamy way of doing things. In fact, they might not be interested in getting things done at all, as long as whatever is done “Looks Good”. Predictably for them, the journey holds much more significance than the destination.
(In extreme cases they might even miss it).
But the genre of people I admire as well as respect the most are the increasingly dwindling species of the rare kinds who can claim to have a heady combo of both – Style as well as Substance.
They know not just how to bake the ideal cake, but how to garnish it with a proper icing as well. They’re often smart enough to tilt the balance on either side depending on the circumstances. Not only do they get their job done quickly, they get it done gracefully as well.
Metaphorically speaking, they’re the ones who enjoy all the sightseeing during the journey, at the same time keeping a lookout for the destination.
I shall be immodest enough to say that it is this category that I often try to idolize and emulate.
Thinking of Style and Substance in their broader and generic terms, I tried to classify people(whoever came to my mind) from various spheres into 1 or both of these categories. (Just For Kicks).
Mostly Style:-
Hollywood: Jessica Alba, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, Tom Cruise, Steven Segal.
Bollywood: Celina Jaitley, Sanjay Dutt, Sameera Reddy, Salmaan Khan, Bipasha Basu
Music: Madonna, Jessica Simpson, Elvis, Britney
Writing: Shobha De, Sidney Sheldon, M&B’s.
Politics: Bill Clinton, Laloo Yadav( He’s gotta unique style a’ite!), Jyotiraditya Scindia, Renuka Chowdhary, Rahul Gandhi.
Others: Maharani Gayatri Devi, Vijaypat Singhania, Paris Hilton, Prince William.
Mostly Substance:-
Hollywood: Russell Crowe, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster
Bollywood: Tabu, Rani Mukherjee, Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah
Music: REM , Phil Collins, The Cranberries, Alanis Morissette
Writing: Dominique Lapierre ,Gurcharan Das, Swaminathan Aiyar(Swaminomics)
Politics: Winston Churchill, A.Lincoln, Manmohan Singh, AB Vajpayee, Vladimir Putin
Others: Einstein, Gandhi, Laxmi Mittal, Serena Williams,Tiger Woods
Style & Substance:-
Hollywood: Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek
Bollywood: Amitabh Bachan, Shabana Aazmi, Aamir Khan,Sushmita Sen
Music: Santana, Eric Clapton, Kishore Kumar, Shania Twain, Sting
Writing: Salmaan Rushdie, Frederick Forsyth
Politics: JawaharLal Nehru, Arun Jaitley, Nelson Mandela, John F. Kennedy
Others: Richard Branson, Sania Mirza, Muhammad Ali, Sachin Tendulkar
None:-
Hollywood: Kevin Costner
Bollywood: Mallika Sherawat
Music: Mick Jagger,Bjork
Writing: Umm Joseph Heller! (Try Catch-22)
Politics: George W. Bush (who else)
Others: Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles
Maybe I missed out some….do you feel strongly about any people who fit the bill ?
26 comments:
Nice post..
and STYLISH way of presenting a post with bit of SUBSTANCE:)
sheesh..when i was reading these lines..
Like those who can go on talking for hours together(even though their message could’ve been conveyed in 2 sentences), and still end up in getting an applause from their audiences, all simply by virtue of their ‘Style’. These people have an artistic bent of mind, and mostly have a vague and dreamy way of doing things. In fact, they might not be interested in getting things done at all, as long as whatever is done “Looks Good”. Predictably for them, the journey holds much more significance than the destination.
(In extreme cases they might even miss it)......
i felt as u were talking about me:0
though we always think that those who hold style usually lack the substance..but i dont agree..and i do believe that all stylish ppl are not always shallow..
I seriously disagree with ur choice of writer.though.having style and substance..salman rushdie..
call it bias or prejudice but i seriously believe that with FREEDOM CMS GREAT RESPONSIBILITY..
and if he was embedded with the freedom of expression..he should have been responsible enough to take in view the feelings of 1000s of muslims..before writing such stuff ..similarly same thing i say abt M.F HUSSAIN..who painted goddesses and gods of hindu mythology in a way which menaged to hurt the feelings of all the hindus..Such people neither hold style,nor depth nor any substance..cuz they cant excercize their power in the right way...
tc
You totally dare not miss out radiohead. They spun up a whole new sort of head banging (ish) music that coldplay and keane are so dying to make up!
Where, I mean, WHERE, senor is Tom Hanks! And Emma Thompson ought to be on the substance list. You would agree if you had seen Wit. Rushdie is a lotta blah. Just the journey kind of things. Id name him only style for sure. You ought to try forsyth when it comes to writing. And also Bachi.
Give Heller a beak, ya. He isnt all that annoying. :)
LOL great post! Very interestingly compiled :)
**Style as well as Substance.
I hope I belong in this category...wink wink :)
The ppl u categorised here were excellent matches! Well done! LOL @NONE with Bush and Mallika!
I love Salma Hayek...she definitely has both...
What abt Anna Nicole Smith and NONE lol!
Keshi.
Interesting post and very well written too..
No time to think about other possible celebrities but you have got it absolutely right in the case of george bush:))
Sebia -> Thank u! :) Well,i absolutely agree that not all stylish people are necessarily shallow, and that is y i created a 3rd category for them! Even i like a mix of say 60% style with 40% substance ;) And i do think u belong to that category!
As far as Rushdie goes,i've read 2 of his books,Midnight's Children and Satanic Verses; and i put him in this category only for Midnight's....in which he's unparalleled.
As far as his controversial book is concerned,i suggest u read what he himself has to say over it....in this essay he wrote called
"Is Nothing Sacred". http://people.csail.mit.edu/hqm/rushdie.html
Maybe u won't dislike him so much after reading this.
De.Vile -> :) I was expecting a storm from u....I agree...Radiohead's the pioneer of the genre of Coldplay and Keane.(My favs r Fake Plastic Trees and Creep)
Lol and u actually caught me on that 1...i was thinking hard after posting that i missed out sum1 important sumwhr...and realised later that it had to be Tom Hanks for Substance! (Too Late!)
I've only seen Emma Thompson in the Harry Potter series so couldn't comment much on her...maybe i would now!
Read Midnight's Children by Rushdie.
I've read Forsyth's best work...'The day of the Jackal', and am about to start off with 'The Odessa File'. Yup his name definitely deserves a mention here.
I devour the entire Sunday edition of TOI,and Bachi is ok but in her category,Jug Surayiya rocks! The only person who's writing makes me laugh out loud each time!
Heller IS annoying! :)
Keshi -> Thank You! :)
Oh with ample display of your wits in your last post(Calling Mr. Right) u definitely belong to the 3rd category!
Salma Hayek surely got both(c Frida)
Anna Nicole Smith...LOLz ...she's got nothing except a big pair of sumthing...LOL.
Shikha -> Thank u ! :) I was expecting sum contributions from u too but maybe later! Bush...hehe...the less said about Dubya the better!
Hey! damn nice post...style and substance is an ideal combination..
Um..I like rani and ajay devgan's films..well most of them...so that matched!?!!
I think dravid comes under style and substance..which makes him attractive;)lol
Thanks for dropping by!:)
**Anna Nicole Smith...LOLz ...she's got nothing except a big pair of sumthing
LOL thats exactly what I meant...and that too fake lolll!
Keshi.
i compleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetly agree w/ u on Amitabh Bachchan and Mallika Sherawat ... even her interviews are ... yuck !!!!!
You forget one thing in the substance bit : I.N.T.E.G.R.I.T.Y
Almost 95% of the people w/ substance are true to themselves ...
and style comes abt when u r confident of urself.... aint it ???
style n substance :
( bollywood ) - Kajol, Jaya Bachan.
and fictional character :
Shilpa Shetty in Phir Milenge ... woooooooooow !! That was style n substance in a great package
Heya Rebel,:)
GOSH that was an awesome post man. I was practically drinking in every word u were presenting there from the start to the end. LOVE THE Style of expression and writing. Alluring indeeds!
*CLAPPS*
I am linking ya eh! ;)
EXCELLENT!!
the_ego_has_landed -> Welcome and thank u! Rani rocked in BLACK and Ajay was gud in Company and the recent Apharan....Dravid definitely has both, but as far as Attractive goes...i'd say..Sania Mirza! ;)
Keep Visiting!
Keshi -> LOLz didn't know even those were FAKE! What a cheat! Lol
Deepa -> Every1 HAS to agree on Amitabh....the guy is like 65? and still a 1-man industry,in BLACK he outdid himself(now howz tht!) and proved India can still churn out movies of international class.His modesty and down-to-earth nature commands even more respect!
Mallika Sherawat...lol..1 word...BIMBO.
Integrity....Well i'd agree with the statement that Style comes abt wen ur true to urself.
Kajol- Style n Substance - Agreed
Jaya Bachan - More of Substance (She was cute though)
Haven't seen Phir Milenge but heard it's gud!
Thnx N Cheers! :)
My UnVeilings -> Gee Thnx! :>
"I was practically drinking in every word u were presenting there from the start to the end."
Awww i feel completely honoured!:) Thnxx again for the praise! Lol ur spoiling me now....i'll start expecting an applause each time!(Kidding :p)
Please be my guest for the link(My Privilege!)
Cheers!
Hey Rebel...
hehe... liked the None part of it... didn't expect to see that category..!!
Surprised to see Mallika Sherawat's name in there. Wasn't she a hotttieee sometime back..
And Ash.. one of the most beautiful ladies of the world. She fits into Style :-) (at least when she was younger and less arrogant... now she aging and losing her charm)
Nice post :-)
Cheers!
Icy
Liked the descriptive account of Style and substance. Great set of classification and perfectly categorized list of people. Well done post.
lol I thought they were fake..I mean how can anyone have such blockbuster ones? LOLLL!
Keshi.
hahaha Rebel...:D
A good one. Something to think about. Its true when you say that the species which has the right mixture of style and substance is dying. But you need only look around, among ur pals you just might find them. :)
Hey,
that was some substance with ishtyle ;-)
I agree with you..
mebbe you can add Sushmitha sen too in the Style and substance list...
Icy ->
Hey! Well where's the fun without None! Hehe i mean Bush's pic had to b there...chk out his expression...it's like..."I hope the people don't realise what a DUMBASS i am!" Lol.
Nooo Mallika's NOT a Hottiee! Trust me i'm a guy i shud know! Maybe Bipasha is 1, even though she exposes she's got CLASS.Mallika's just got that Minus the CL.Hehe.(Chk out her intvs...they're like downright disgustingly slutty!)
Ash i totally agree she's among the most beautiful women in the world.But i was confused with her Substance bit...she's got enuff of it not to be mentioned in the 'Mostly Style' category, but maybe insufficient to make it to 'Style with Substance'.(Now again that's my personal thought)
Thnx a ton!
Cheers! :)
DewDrop -> Thank u ma'am....Glad to know i was able to categorise them correctly, coz frankly it was a tough task.
Thnx again...:)
TC!
Keshi ->
"blockBUSTer ones" LOLz. Yea i shud've guessed. Also the fact that she married an 85 yr old millionaire wen she was 19 yr old...speaks a lot abt her Brains too! Hehe.
My UnVeilings -> :-)
My Ramblings ->
Gracias Senorita....yup i agree i've been really lucky to have some pals here who have plenty of both! And i must add that ur 1 of them! :-)
TC!
Alive_N_Confused ->
Mallika....hehe...i've already 'bajaoed' her enuff! :>
I think Salma is HOTTTT!(I loved her in Desperado.)Maybe it has also to do with her Mexican looks, which are so similar to the typical Indian beauty. Also,she's proved her mettle in movies like Frida.
Khushi ->
Welcome and Thank U ! :>
Sushmita in Style N Substance....Ummm I Agree....added!
:)
Keep Visiting!
Cheers!
like everyone else on the comments page : LOL@ george bush and mallika sherawat in 'None' List.
but personally i think its a bit problematic trying to define style and substance as watertight-ly as you have done. the way you have put it, its black, white and one single shade of grey. for example i would so not agree with you about Alanis being mostly substance - i think she's got great style, which is why she is making it.
great post tho. i quite enjoyed reading it. :)
Hi,
will try to read the essay as u said so but frabkly speaking got no intentions right now atleast.
u asked me a q on my blog..didnt want 2 ans tht there cuz of my perfect enemies the anonymouses..cuz it ws bit of personal 1..anyways ans is
My father is punju,my mom is half irish half kashmiri,i was born and brought up in middle east..so what do u think my mother tongue is?cuz i myself couldnt answer it:).
tc
poor 85yr old...he must be dead by now, death by drowning I mean LOLLLL!
Keshi.
Nothing's Aplenty ->
Welcome. LOL@ GeorgeBush and Mallika - Hehe...yea they do deserve as many LOLs as possible! :)
I agree it's difficult to define people so 'water tight-ly' but then that's just the way i percieve the ones i categorised.Perceptions might differ,and that's pretty ok.
Also,that's the reason i put 'Mostly' and not 'Only' in those categories.
Alanis Morisette...she's got a GREAT voice and talent,and i luv her music, but Style...well i heard she went naked on stage on 1 of her shows...anyways...again a different perception. :)
Thnxx a ton for the appreciation.Glad u enjoyed reading it.
Keep Visiting!
Sebia -> Whoa...Punju(Same pinch), Irish and Kashmiri! Exotic! :)
Now all i can think of is the different delicacies u must've enjoyed.
Punju Tandoori ,Irish Stew and the legendry 36-course Kashmiri Wazwaan!!!
(Damn i was a Pure Veggie until very recently)
Cheers!
Keshi -> Death by drowning...LOL. Yea i heard the poor chap died in a few months.(might've been suffocated) ;)
enjoyable post! i agree that prince charles and camilla have neither style nor susbstance :) though i would have added late princess diana in the list of style & susbtance.
I wont agree upon joseph keller as catch 22 is my all time favourites ....
u dont think Ms rai fits the bill in any category ....i know she looks good but i find no substance in her ....
good observations
Ash
Still_Figuring_Out ->
Thank u! :)
Charles n Camilla....lol...it's like a Gay marriage.Lolz.
Diana....Perfect Style n Substance...well ya she did those charities too.
Me -> Of course i wud've missed a few names, it's the reason i asked for more in the first place. :)
Bjork - Substance, well i somehow find her sense of music WEIRD.
Style, well well, no questions about this one....maybe the Worst Dressed Woman to ever walk this planet!
Cheers!
Ash ->
Yea i know Heller's on the list of a LOT of ppl's all time best. Still i had to literally drag myself to finish that book.Maybe he's got style for some. Again perception. :)
The problem with Ms. Rai i discussed above....no doubt about Style but Substance is too little to be mentioned in S&S and too much to mention in Mostly Style.
Thanks a ton for appreciating my observation skills!!! :)
Cheers!!!
lolllllllz!
Keshi.
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