A video of Janhvi Kapoor recently went viral on the internet in which she was heard begging the paparazzi, “Aap na galat galat angles mat lena”. The following day, photos of her voluptuous back were widely shared on social media. Nora Fatehi, too, has slammed paparazzi for zooming in on her body, but she remains “unfazed” because she can’t teach every paparazzi how not to photograph her or other celebrities.
After Alia Bhatt expressed her concerns about specific paparazzi members invading her privacy, the spotlight has shifted back to the paparazzi as celebs speak out against their behavior while pursuing a female celebrity for photos. Janhvi, who is promoting her new film Mr & Mrs Mahi, has a good connection with paparazzi but is becoming more cautious of how she is being photographed. The actress also told Indianexpress.com that she has been feeling “not so confident” lately because she is being photographed from the ‘wrong angles’. According to the actor, while not all photographers do this, some are incentivized to click images in a specific way for clickbait.
“But some of them have also been incentivized to do these things,” the star remarked, adding that many of the paparazzi are very respectful of her and other actors and respect boundaries. Like, they’ll take a normal video of you, but for the cover photo, they’ll use the one with the wrong angle, the one that appears the most spectacular because it’s clickbait, especially if it’s a woman. That’s when you’re most uncomfortable.
“I can’t even walk confidently because I’m constantly telling myself, ‘bachke rehna galat angle aa sakta hai (be careful, you’re being clicked from the wrong angles).'” It is sad and unfortunate, and I hope better judgment prevails. “It’s not respectful,” she explained.
Janhvi also related a personal experience in which some paparazzi would ask her to say goodbye and then record a video or photograph her from behind. She explains, “There was a time when I would cheerfully say ‘bye’ without understanding why they were asking me to do so. I realize how dumb I was. Then there are remarks about how I deliberately tried to show certain angles. The judgment of a woman’s clothing, temperament, and sexuality is so sensitive that it is taxing. I hope we can get to the point where the media and paparazzi are more aware of these issues.”
Janhvi Kapoor isn’t alone in feeling this way. Nora Fatehi has previously spoken out about being felt uncomfortable by the way some paparazzi zoomed in on certain body areas when photographing her. In an earlier interview with News18, Nora commented on the paparazzi’s behavior while chasing a female celebrity, saying, “I guess they’ve never seen a butt like that before.” It’s what it is. Not only does the media target me, but also other female actors. Perhaps they don’t zoom in on their buttocks because it’s uninteresting, but they do zoom in on other body parts excessively. Sometimes I feel like there’s nothing to zoom onto, so what are
Mrunal Thakur had even expressed her parents’ discomfort with her images, which were taken from the improper angles and were being circulated on the internet.
The Sita Ramam actress informed iDiva that she needed to speak with the paparazzi. She stated, “I was having this difficulty until I had a talk with the paparazzi. I showed one of them the chat that my mother had shared in which she said, ‘kiti pan dhaaklele kapde ghaatle tari pan te loka focus tithech kartat (whatever you dress up, they focus there solely)’. So I was wondering whether I should stop getting clicked and adjust my path when I see you. And they recognize the car, so we can’t ignore them.”
“But I just told them that I respect your job, and you must respect me and my identity, character, and who I am, since what my relatives and family friends see does not reflect well on me or the page on which it is uploaded. So they understand, and I am relieved that there are others who are also discussing their discomfort. I’m not sure why others don’t talk. Maybe they’re alright with that; they can go and pap them that way, not us,” she said.
Yogen Shah, a veteran paparazzo, has been working in the field for over 30 years. He passionately objects to celebrities being photographed inappropriately. In fact, he says he supports all performers speaking up and wants a set of principles for photographers on the field to follow, as well as basic empathy, to help them negotiate such difficulties.
When asked about celebrities becoming outraged by the manner they are photographed at times, he stated, “It is not right. We should know where to draw the line. Just because we have access to the celebs and they are surrounded by paparazzi doesn’t imply we click them disrespectfully.”
Yogen went on to say that press photographers are aware of what the publications to which they supply images will and will not pick up due to stricter guidelines; however, he added, “There are many boys who stand for hours together to photograph celebrities who are almost always late for events and media appearances. While most of them understand their limitations, some become frantic to take photos because celebrities don’t give them much time. Then there are some on the field who have YouTube channels and social media pages, and such images make great clickbait stuff, so they don’t know where to stop.”