Bollywood Backstage: A Glimpse Into Bollywood’s Paparazzi Culture

Who are these people that enable this peek into the real lives of your favourite Bollywood stars?

The most coveted celebs that the Bollywood Paparazzi scampers to cover.

(Photo: The Quint)

Being in the media industry, the one thing that I have realised is that nothing sells like Bollywood. You might love it or hate it but you surely can’t ignore it. Not just the big screen but now our stars are accessible in their daily lives. In restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, airports, you name it. But who are these people that are facilitating this peek into the real life of your favourite Bollywood stars? It’s the paparazzi.

A lot has been said about them. People call them intrusive, unruly and surely it is also one of the most hated professions but hello! you can’t stop seeing those pictures, or talking about them, can you? From what the celebs are wearing to where they are partying - you want to know every detail.

These pictures are the most watched, most shared and that makes them most coveted. So can you really blame them?

It is definitely not an easy job. No matter if it’s a Sunday or a Wednesday, these photographers are working seven days a week. Doesn’t matter what the weather conditions are like, they are always clicking. Their biggest competition is social media. Once a picture is out on social media their picture is of no use.

They are constantly trying to be the fastest. Earlier we would only see stars on magazine covers other than the big screen. Today it's all about the 'airport look' , the 'gym look' and the likes. And not just stars, their kids are even bigger stars thanks to the paparazzi. Think Taimur.

But their job doesn't end at clicking pictures, they need to focus on stories, look for stories, follow stars, build a network and it's much more difficult than it sounds. They largely remain anonymous. This is the story of their life and how this paparazzi culture works.

Camera: Sanjoy Deb

Editor: Veeru Mohan

(This story was first published on 22 May 2018. It is being republished in light of the Alia Bhatt photo leak incident)