Have you ever relaxed in your own living room? Or had a little too much to drink on a fun night out and accidentally tripped while walking? If yes, you can thank your stars that you're not a Bollywood celebrity!
Volumes have been written about the increasingly vicious paparazzi culture in India. But the rising celebrity obsession points to an even more bizarre phenomenon: celebs being not only violated by photographers but also trolled by netizens for something absolutely any human being could have done.
From Alia Bhatt to Aryan Khan, here's 5 times Bollywood personalities were criticised or hounded for exhibiting incredibly normal behaviour.
Alia Bhatt
Bhatt has never not been under the watchful eyes of the media but her daughter's birth just aggravated the paparazzi's obsession.
The Brahmastra actor might have kept her calm in November of last year when her car was aggressively hounded for a snap of her newborn child, but she's finally been driven to speak out.
On Tuesday (21 February), she took to social media to express her frustration with the paparazzi. The Gangubai Kathiawadi actor shared two photos of herself on the balcony of her Bandra residence, using her phone.
Calling out the publication who clicked and shared the images, Bhatt tagged the Mumbai Police's Instagram handle and wrote, "Are you kidding me? I was at my house having a perfectly normal afternoon sitting in my LIVING ROOM when I felt something watching me.. I looked up and saw two men on the terrace of my neighboring building with a camera right at me! In what world is this okay and allowed? This is a gross invasion of someone's privacy! There's a line you just cannot cross and it's safe to say all lines were crossed today! @mumbaipolice."
Nysa Devgn
Kajol and Ajay Devgn's 19-year-old daughter, Nysa has been facing the wrath of social media trolls and invasive media for quite some time now.
Just last week, she was brutally criticized for appearing to be drunk, while leaving a party. From the way she walked to what she wore, unflattering pap clicks fueled social media trolls as she made headlines for doing something any young person at nineteen would do.
Two days ago, she was again subjected to incessant trolling for struggling to speak in Hindi. Addressing the importance of education at a school for underprivileged children, her speech was brutally criticized by netizens.
Here are some of the comments directed at Devgn:
Let's think of it this way: does a young adult deserve endless cameras being shoved at her face and resultant social media critique, for going out with her friends and having a good time? Or for struggling to speak a language she's simply not comfortable with?
What is stopping us from extending the bare minimum courtesy to Nysa Devgn?
3. Aryan Khan
Last week, Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan's son, Aryan Khan made headlines for...doing absolutely nothing. Yep, you heard that right.
The 25-year-old arrived at a party and simply walked in without acknowledging the scores of paparazzi stationed outside the venue. This was reason enough for him to be bashed by netizens for "showing attitude".
Let's be clear: Celebrities and star kids are hounded by photographers on the daily. Every action they take, every word they utter is not only scrutinized but flung toward mass critique. Given the context, if a celebrity wishes to avoid the glaring lenses and flashing cameras, it's not only normal but also understandable.
Khan did not deserve even half the hatred he was subjected to. Take a look at the comments here:
4. Seema Sajdeh
Fashion designer and Sohail Khan's ex-wife, Seema Sajdeh came under fire for tripping while exiting a party. While heading home, Sajdeh was captured losing balance - until she swiftly regained her composure and continued posing for the paps stationed outside the venue.
In no time, the video went viral and the designer made headlines for doing something any of us could have done! Netizens even slammed her for tripping, assuming that she was drunk and lost balance.
Well, here's a thought: So what?
So what if she was drunk at a friend's party and lost balance while leaving his house? Have we entirely forgotten that celebrities are human beings, too?
5. Sussanne Khan
Honestly, I cannot wait for the day when celebrities can trip and fall without the national population receiving real-time alerts. Because at this point, this has grown into a full-blown pattern!
After Nysa Devgn and Seema Sajdeh, another celebrity to fall prey to the same-old media frenzy and online trolling is Sussanne Khan. The interior designer, who was formerly married to Hrithik Roshan, merely lost balance while walking, triggering a barrage of pap clicks and hate comments.
Even kissing her partner in front of the cameras made headlines - forcing me to ponder on the public expectations surrounding famous personalities.
Do we expect celebrities to turn into emotionless robots who can exhibit no human behavior in front of the paparazzi?
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