Poonam Pandey and the cry wolf syndrome

Actor Poonam Pandey, who hit the headlines in 2011 with her declaration that she would strip down to nothing if India won the cricket World Cup, died of cervical cancer at the age of 32. At least, that is what her publicist said on Friday, but didn’t provide details of exactly where and when.

Turns out the news was fake, and the controversial actor has come out and said she staged her death because she wanted to ignite a conversation around cervical cancer. In an Instagram video, Pandey shared a video and spoke about why the conversation was needed.

“Hi everyone it’s Poonam. I am sorry to those whom I have hurt. My intention is to shock everyone into the conversation that we are not talking enough about cervical cancer. Yes, I faked my demise,” she announced. “Extreme I know.

But suddenly we all are talking about cervical cancer. This disease silently takes your life and this disease needs the spotlight urgently. I am proud of what my death news has been able to achieve.”

The trouble with this stunt, as with many of Pandey’s earlier stunts, is that attention will shift from cause to conduit. In other words, more people will be talking – and already are – about Pandey and her stunt, rather than cervical cancer, which is admittedly worth talking about.