The relationship between paparazzi and celebrities has always been under the scanner. While it’s evident that it is symbiotic, sometimes certain instances highlight the problematic aspects to it. One’s personal space, for starters.
Ranbir Kapoor’s video reprimanding paps ‘Yeh kya kar rahe ho? Hato yahaan se’ went viral recently. He was exiting and walking towards his car with wife, actor Alia Bhatt when this happened. Similarly, Kajol’s video getting upset at paps entering the Durga Puja pandal wearing shoes and slippers also went viral. Social media users supported her in this instance.
In Hollywood, too, actor Tom Holland was seen rescuing girlfriend, actor Zendaya from a swarm of paps. The question arises: have they crossed a line by entering one’s personal space? We talk to some prominent paps on the recent episodes of celebs' personal space being intruded upon.
NEW FACES
Celebrity photographer Viral Bhayani, who has been in the field for decades, opines, “It depends on the situation. All such things do get resolved eventually. What has happened is, the number of paps on spot have increased, it’s getting out of control. Several people have started papping, seeing our success. Sabko lagta hai yahi karna chahiye. Now there are different faces on field. I get shocked, when I see so many people in Bandra, Mumbai for example. They are not under scrutiny or our control. We follow guidelines for even funerals, otherwise there is police enquiry as well. Our image is going down day by day due to new people.”
CUTTHROAT COMPETITION
{{/usCountry}}Celebrity photographer Viral Bhayani, who has been in the field for decades, opines, “It depends on the situation. All such things do get resolved eventually. What has happened is, the number of paps on spot have increased, it’s getting out of control. Several people have started papping, seeing our success. Sabko lagta hai yahi karna chahiye. Now there are different faces on field. I get shocked, when I see so many people in Bandra, Mumbai for example. They are not under scrutiny or our control. We follow guidelines for even funerals, otherwise there is police enquiry as well. Our image is going down day by day due to new people.”
CUTTHROAT COMPETITION
{{/usCountry}}What also happens is the quest to find the best angle for any spotting or situation. Celebrity photographer Pallav Paliwal says Ranbir and Alia being spotted together is a big deal, enough for everyone to scramble to capture them. “It’s a love-hate relationship between paps and celebs. There is cutthroat competition among us. The intention of the present paps must have not been to harm Ranbir and Alia. All they must have wanted is to get the best capture for their boss, taaki voh unpe na cheekhe. As for the Kajol event, sometimes even celebs forget to remove slippers and shoes. Ranbir once was praised for picking up Alia’s slippers, and once even Alia picked up a pap’s slipper outside the same restaurant as the one where the latest incident happened,” he shares.
CELEBS PANIC WITH SO MUCH HAPPENING
Yogen Shah, who has been among the earliest players in this business, feels the same about the booming interest in becoming paps.
“The relationship between us and celebs is very nice. But there are instances when we feel scared of the crowd around to pap them, like some time back Deepika (Padukone) ji, who was pregnant then. What’s good is her bodyguard handled it well. Kidhar se bhi log aa jaate hain. There are some things which photogs should capture from a distance. There are about 40 photographers between me, Viral and Manav. Add the others, the number is 50. They get scattered with so many events happening. So for every photo opportunity, there are about 5-10 paps. And then the new people come,” he shares.
This hs in fact led to robberies. He continues, “I know of three instances where mobiles of paps was stolen, by people who become a part of the crowd around a celeb. I also understand that for celebs, it must get panicky when they are getting out of a restaurant like Ranbir-Alia, taking care of the incoming traffic, and seeing a group of people around them.”