Page 3 Culture
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Page 3 Culture is the name given to India's partying, high society, metropolitan culture, specifically Mumbai.
[edit] Description
The term originates from colourful daily newspaper supplements appearing usually on the third page that chronicle cocktail parties and gossip of the glitterati - the country's equivalent of tabloid journalism. Page 3 features color photo spreads of celebrities and the nouveau riche at parties and of course, caught doing things they shouldn't be. There are a lot of people who only read the Page 3 sheets and discard the main newspaper, especially the young. They range from fashion designers to models and remix music divas, and of course glamorous rich men and women. Today the flashy supplements are a mix of celebrity news, party pictures, movie gossip and stories on such subjects as the sexual habits and preferences of Indians.
Page 3 has become a phenomenon and is believed to have arisen out of sensationalism. People love to love it or love to hate it, but cannot ignore it.
Observers say India's runaway Page 3 culture reflects two distinct levels of an aspirational society. One is the need for gossip. The second is the desire to be seen to be famous by featuring on Page 3. One Page 3 sheet claimed in a recent self-congratulatory article that everyone wanted to be in it but nobody wanted to admit it. Page 3 reflects the inter-dependence of media and celebrity.
