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| When your job is to chase Bollywood stars for a 'money shot' |
On a helipad in the coastal city of Alibag, about 96 km from Mumbai, India's financial capital, Virender Chawla sits quietly waiting for someone.
He has come to know from his sources that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will come there to take a helicopter which will take him to his palatial home 'Mant' in Mumbai.
It is November 2, 2022, which is the birthday of Superstar Mr. Khan. Shah Rukh always comes out on the balcony of his house to greet the thousands of fans who gather outside on his birthday.
Mr. Chawla was sure that Khan would not disappoint him, so he waited patiently for him.
Finally, a car appears there with Shah Rukh Khan inside. Chawla pointed at the actor and he waved in response. And with that, Chawla pressed the button on his camera and the sound of a click was heard.
Says Mr. Chawla: “It was a real money-making picture. This was the result of my efforts.
Mr. Chawla is one of a growing number of paparazzi (photojournalists who stalk people and take pictures of them willingly or surreptitiously) in Bollywood who don't want to take pictures of celebrities in their usual situations. Know what to do.
What do the paparazzi have to do?
They follow them on bikes, befriend their managers and drivers to get information on their whereabouts, hang out at airports and restaurants, and even car registration plates of movie stars. Remember to follow them.
Shah Rukh Khan's former publicist Mandvi Sharma now runs her own public relations company. He says that paparazzi and Bollywood celebrities have a 'codependent' relationship with each other.
Film stars depend on them for publicity and they depend on these stars for their livelihood. But this relationship can also be toxic. Observers say that in the era of social media, major changes are coming.
In February, actress Alia Bhatt slammed photographers for taking pictures of her in her living room, calling it a 'gross invasion' of her privacy.
Earlier this month, actor Saif Ali Khan hit the headlines when he jokingly asked the paparazzi to 'follow us to the bedroom.'
He said this when he followed him and his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan to their house for pictures.
This video of Saif appeared on the Instagram account of a popular paparazzi viral Bhayani and has since been widely shared on social media.
In 2019, Saif Ali Khan said that he found paparazzi posted outside his house who were there to take pictures of his child. He described it as 'disturbing to say the least'.
Social media hunger
Manav Mangalani has been a paparazzi for almost two decades and now has 15 photographers working for him. He says social media has created an insatiable appetite for celebrity content.
He says that a few decades ago, only newspapers and magazines bought photos from the paparazzi.
Sharma says that the digital media boom in India in 2015 changed things dramatically, as media and celebrities learned to leverage social platforms for work. According to him, social media has 'become a huge publicity game'.
Mangalani says that paparazzi today have to work to keep up with multiple platforms where millions of Indians tune in for fresh updates of their favorite celebrities.
He says: 'We photograph, upload and post, share or live stream for multiple apps like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Roposo, and Snapchat.'
In fact, many famous paparazzi share content only on their very popular Instagram accounts. For example, Bhayani has more than 5 million followers, Mangalani has around 2.6 million followers and Chawla has 1.3 million followers.
Muddying the waters are amateur photographers and YouTubers trying to capitalize on the demand.
Chawla agrees that sometimes the excitement 'crosses the line' as everyone wants to outdo each other to get the best or most special shot. But he says he avoids posting content that could hurt anyone.
Anita (name changed) is a former photographer. He said that he finds paparazzi work stressful and sometimes painful.
She says: 'If I miss a shot that someone else gets, my boss, yells at me.'
Mangalani says pressure also comes from news agencies and TV channels demanding images and videos viewed on rival platforms.
First, let's go with the actors here that used to be said, not now.
By the 1990s, the situation was very different. Chawla, whose father was also a famous photographer, still remembers accompanying him to film sets where he was invited by a star's manager to take promotional pictures.
He says: 'We used to have dinner or lunch on set with celebrities. We used to chat with them and develop friendships. Actors would take a break from shooting and take pictures in different outfits. There was no 'paparazzi culture' then.
Ranjana Banerjee is a freelance journalist writing on media and politics. She says the change came in the 90s when India opened its doors to the world.
"The proliferation of private TV channels showed a desire for more entertainment, more information," she says, adding that film magazines like Chest Blitz and Stardust were also bolder in their coverage of celebrity gossip and news. Happened.
She says that 'celebrity images are no longer artificial, they have become more clear and simple.'
Meanwhile, Bollywood continued to corporatize rapidly. Banks and studios began financing films, and stars, who usually had a single public relations officer, now had their work handled by PR teams.
Distance between stars and photographers
"It created a strange kind of distance between celebrities and photographers," says Chawla. Although we still have access to them, maybe more than before, we've lost that friendly warmth.'
According to estimates, the paparazzi culture in India probably emerged in the mid-2000s.
Chawla says he arrived at Abhishek Bachchan's wedding and started the trend by sneaking a picture, as photographers were barred from the venue.
Veteran paparazzi Yugin Shah claims to have started the trend. He took pictures of celebrities walking out of a party to their cars because photographers were not allowed in the party.
There have been several cases in the US and UK where celebrities have successfully sued paparazzi for invasion of privacy.
"We may soon see a case [in India] where it sets an example for celebrities, paparazzi and managers and publicists to develop a better system that works for everyone," says Mr. Sharma.