Star outbursts underscore privacy tensions with the paparazzi.
Several Bollywood personalities recently lost their cool with the media brigade, reflecting simmering unease over the public-private divide. Salman Khan guided his mother to their car after an event, visibly upset with cameramen blocking the way. Saif Ali Khan protested against filming children at a stadium, whereas Shahid Kapoor scolded shutterbugs for clicking his kids ‘excessively’.
Veteran Jaya Bachchan expressed annoyance over shouting by photographers assembling her family. And Gauahar Khan reprimanded some for inappropriate language at an event.
While these incidents spotlight celebrity frustrations, photojournalist Pallav Paliwal cited the pressures of getting ‘shots’ in any weather and following industry prompts.
He conceded the paparazzi culture in Mumbai could seem ‘harsh’ at times but stressed the need for mutual respect between actors and cameras chronicling their public lives.
As the boundaries between personal and professional realms blur in the intensively mediatised entertainment sphere, tensions may persist over balancing footage access with subjects’ consent and comfort.
