They were the stars who exploded before they could transform themselves into supernovae. The 18 who figure here, in a sense, far predate the notion of ephemeral existence—which became a millenarian rage and, subsequently, a social phenomenon in this country. A peek into how these two-bit actors of India's social life acquired their halos and also how their 'solar-powered batteries' of popularity, populism and star fetish ran out of energy. The subtext: flux lurks behind our ancient civilisation's endless claims to eternity!