Privacy is something a layman can only dream of in a world that has become smaller ever since the advent of social media, technology, and the internet. But if you are someone who is always in the spotlight, then every move of yours is captured by the cameras. The paparazzi will follow you every step of the way.
As the paparazzi culture grows higher, the patience and privacy of celebrities stoop low. Here, take a look at some celebs who lashed back at the paps for taking it too far.
Jaya Bachchan:
The actress could be seen going out of their home and shooing the paparazzi away in a viral video that was posted on social media. Jaya was heard calling the photographers "intruders."
Not only that, she has expressed her opinions on paparazzi very candidly on her granddaughter Navya Nanda's podcast. She claims that she hates people that meddle in her private affairs and then earn money from it. Jaya responded that she never "catered to it" or "endorsed it" when Navya questioned whether she was aware that this would occur when she opted to pursue a career as an actor.
Taapsee Pannu:
Taapsee Pannu has recently been in fights with the paps. And seemed irritated since her recent 'Doobaara' faced criticism. One can see Taapsee get extremely annoyed as she was getting interrogated about the late comedian Raju Srivastava's passing by paps who surrounded her and were pretty close to her.
She gestured for them to move aside and said, "Arre bhaisahab, aap ek minute, aap ek minute. Aap hatiye, aap aese mat kariye, thoda hatiye, thoda hatiye, piche hatiye." (Excuse me, just one minute. Please move, don't do this, just move, go back.)
Some people on the internet spoke out in favor of Taapsee Pannu, writing things like,‘Stop hounding her, poor thing,’ ‘Where’s her security? Poor girl, she’s handling even her security, and yet you guys are bombarding her for no reason!!!!’
Pulkit Samrat:
Following his divorce in 2017, Bollywood actor Pulkit Samrat got into a fight with a photographer, and things became unpleasant. Photographs show the actor grabbing a photographer by the collar. It appears that Pulkit lost his composure when he noticed photographers taking shots of him as he was exiting the court.
Pulkit apparently had a reason to justify his behavior. He said, “The photographer pushed my uncle and me and was recording it. I requested him to let me pass, but he refused to give way.”
Virat Kohli:
While in Australia, a fan entered cricketer Virat Kohli's hotel room and posted a video of his belongings. This video circulated on social media, and Kohli decided to address it himself.
While his wife, Anushka Sharma, called it "an absolute disgrace and violation of a human being," actors from the Bollywood fraternity too reacted to this horrific incident. Varun Dhawan wrote, “Horrible behavior,” and Arjun Kapoor called the video “Absolutely unethical & uncool….” With Parineeti Chopra thinking this is a “New level of low,” Hrithik Roshan suggests that action should be against the person and wrote, “Damn! This person needs to be found out and fired. And the hotel needs to take responsibility!”
Anushka Sharma:
Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli have made it clear that they are not okay with constant media attention on their lives and have expressly said that they will not allow pictures of their daughter Vamika to be shared online. Even after their daughter Vamika was born, they requested the paparazzi not to click on her pictures.
Recently, the couple was spotted at the airport. Vamika was traveling with the pair, and Anushka was not amused by the paparazzo's claimed attempt to take a picture of Vamika. With her hands directed at the paparazzo, the actress got angry. He spoke out right away, "Baby ka nahi le rahe hai." (Not taking a photo of the baby.)
Suriya:
Recently, actor Suriya and his family were sighted in Mumbai. In one of the videos going viral on social media, the 'Jai Bhim' actor can be seen posing with his wife, Jyothika, for the paps. The way Suriya requested the photographers to "leave the kids" while attempting to protect them as they got into a car was entertaining to watch.
Suriya and Jyotika are seen walking while they stop and pose for the paparazzi in front of a row of parked cars in a video posted on a fan account on Twitter. Suriya asks the photographers not to take their pictures before turning around and calling his children as they make their way to their car. The actor, very calmly, asked the paparazzi not to record his children, which they obeyed.
Alia Bhatt:
On an episode of 'Koffee With Karan,' 'Brahmastra' actress Alia Bhatt mispronouncing the president's name will always be remembered. For the actor, who was often quizzed on general knowledge at every other event, the incident turned into something of a nightmare. A paparazzo questioned her, "Why is Holi celebrated?"
Alia, initially ignoring the question, decided to clap back by asking, "Do you know who the president of China is? Who is South Africa's president? Don't say anything if you don't know, bro!"
Hrithik Roshan:
Prior to the release of his movie 'Kites,' Hrithik Roshan lost his cool when visiting Shirdi and got into a fight with the paps. When the media attempted to photograph the actor in Shirdi, they said that he treated them harshly. Hrithik claimed he lost his cool because he thought the cameramen were invading his personal space.
"I can't believe they (media) can now enter gods shrine for TRP. Polite words requesting them were ignored. It took efforts to pray with 30 media cameras feeding off every private moment," Hrithik said after the incident.
Kareena Kapoor Khan:
Earlier this year, a paparazzo got hurt and injured his leg when he struck Kareena Kapoor Khan's car as she was leaving her home and walking to her car while he was trying to capture her pictures. Kareena became enraged by this and lost her composure, yelling, "peeche jaa yaar" (go back) to her chauffeur.
Later, she was seen advising the photographers not to run while taking photographs.
Sanjay Dutt:
Back in 2018, Sanjay Dutt lost his composure and yelled insults at the paparazzi waiting outside his house as he was coming from a party. He, under the influence of alcohol, asked paps to go home and celebrate Diwali with their families. The irate actor retaliated with further derogatory comments and insults when one of them said they were just doing their jobs as their seniors had ordered them to do so.
Even when paps can sometimes become a bit too much, celebrities do not avoid them because they know that doing so could harm their careers and result in financial loss. In this industry, there has been and always will be a love-hate relationship between celebrities and paparazzi, and there's just no escape from it!
