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Guest Column by Viral Bhayani: In defense of the Indian paparazzi
A young pap writes about celebrity child spotting, airport looks and how paparazzi here are different from the aggressive ones in the West
For more than two decades, I have been a paparazzo, a member of that corps of photographers hated by celebrities the world over. I actually wanted to be a publicist, but I got sucked into this and now nothing could make me change routes.
Even though I came ‘late’ to social media, I hold one of the biggest databases of celebrity images and videos. I invested my earnings to build perhaps the biggest team of media photographers and videographers in India. This profession needs your entirety and commitment. If not, you cannot survive even two days.
Friendly Indian paps
The global pap scene has changed. It’s fun to do spy things, but the repercussions are deadly. The best Hollywood agencies are bankrupt or fighting legal battles. But abroad they go to any extent to get the picture they want because they are paid so well. In India, if we use drones, we will end up in jail.
In any case, we are more friendly in India, which helps extract the best content. Newer, forward-thinking artists find it exciting when they get pally with the paps; the synergy helps generate more organic and engaging content. Once they open up, the TRP starts rising.
We were friendly with the late Sidharth Shukla. We always knew his whereabouts but he’d tell us that the next picture would happen only after a couple of months. His pictures and videos have massive reach, but since we heard him out, he was grateful, and that’s how our relationship got stronger.
Know your priorities
My image over the years has gone from ‘the sweet guy’ to the ‘toughie’. We are all humans and make mistakes, we hug and forget. It’s best to keep cool; heart issues are common with media folk.
There was a major obsession with the celebrity child thing. Over time, I understood it was too much. They are big celebrities and their kids are definitely going to be captured by fans, even if it is not us. But if I do get their pictures, I run them by their parents’ managers.
Sometime we follow celebs to get their picture; we need a natural look. When Anushka was pregnant, we followed her car. I thought the fans would appreciate it. But they trolled me heavily and rightly so. Anything could have happened to the baby if the car had suddenly braked. We need discipline to understand what is more important than TRP.
As told to Urvee Modwel
Viral Bhayani is a much-loved, Mumbai-based entertainment and lifestyle photographer, who covers celebrities and their whereabouts. His Instagram page is followed by the biggest stars and has a following of 3.1 million.
From HT Brunch, February 20, 2022
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