Coronavirus Impacts Bollywood Paparazzi's Day At Work
News
oi-Swikriti Srivastava
By P T I
With
gyms,
airports
and
film
studios
out
of
bounds
for
Bollywood
stars
amid
coronavirus
scare,
celebrity
photographers
in
the
city
say
they
are
struggling
to
come
up
with
newer
ways
to
keep
their
followers
happy.
Gyms,
malls
and
screenings
are
the
'hotspots'
for
photographers
to
click
the
celebrity
as
there
is
a
huge
demand
for
'who
wore
what'
on
social
media.
Senior
photographer
Yogen
Shah,
who
has
been
in
the
business
since
1992,
said
these
were
"unprecedented
times" and
something
he
is
still
figuring
out.
"I
got
only
two
paparazzi
pictures
the
other
day
but
it
was
eight
the
next
day.
It
is
truly
bizarre,
the
way
this
is
unfolding.
With
our
prime
locations
shut,
we
will
have
to
find
new
spots
as
the
frequency
has
taken
a
hit,"
Shah
told
PTI.
Popular
Bollywood
photographer
Viral
Bhayani
said
the
number
has
gone
drastically
down
from
the
usual
70-80
spotting
of
stars
in
a
day
to
four-five.
Bollywood
photographer
Varinder
Chawla,
who
has
a
team
of
10
people
working
for
him,
said
the
outbreak
has
affected
the
morning
paparazzi
routine
of
clicking
celebrity
photographs
outside
the
gym.
"With
gyms
shut
down,
the
entire
morning
paparazzi
has
stopped.
Theatres
are
closed
down
so
even
the
screening
spotting
has
died.
Normally,
we
would
have
10-20
celebrity
spotting
in
a
day,
now
it's
mostly
three
to
four.
The
other
day,
we
didn't
even
get
a
single
picture,"
he
said.
Gym
and
airport
looks
of
celebrities
are
a
hit
on
Instagram,
with
fans
of
stars
and
even
the
general
audience
consuming
'who
wore
what' on
a
daily
basis.
Popular
celebrity
photographer
Manav
Manglani
said
the
number
of
paparazzi
pictures
have
now
gone
down
to
20
per
cent
as
everybody
stays
home.
"There's
hardly
anything
happening.
There's
no
content.
Tip
offs
from
PRs
have
completely
stopped.
There
are
only
a
few
meetings
happening
between
the
stars,
producers
and
directors.
That's
where
the
focus
is
now,"
he
said.
With
visa
ban
and
minimal
air
travel
being
advised
by
the
government,
even
the
airport
spotting
has
taken
a
hit.
"We
have
removed
our
staff
from
international
airport
and
placed
them
at
domestic
terminal
because
internal
travelling
is
still
happening.
Some
South
stars
will
come
to
Mumbai
or
someone
from
here
will
head
there
for
a
meeting," Varinder
said.
This,
in
turn,
has
also
severely
affected
their
Instagram
engagements.
Viral,
Manav,
Varinder
and
Shah
collectively
have
more
than
22
lakh
followers
on
Instagram
and
all
of
them
are
brainstorming
how
to
keep
the
numbers
intact
when
not
many
new
pictures
are
available.
Viral
said
he
is
looking
at
uploading
classics
as
he
has
a
bank
of
unreleased
pictures
and
videos,
but
there
is
a
small
catch.
"I've
realised
the
audience
wants
to
see
only
happening,
trending
stars.
They
don't
want
to
see
anything
else.
If
I
put
a
classic
picture
of
a
trending
star,
it'll
work
but
not
of
the
old
stars,"
he
said.
From
falling
back
on
archival
pictures
to
re-using
photos
posted
by
stars,
photographers
are
managing
to
keep
their
audience
somehow
engaged,
but
wonder
for
how
long.
Shutting
down
the
business
is
not
an
option,
at
least
for
now.
Team
members
reach
the
field
with
full
precaution-
masks,
sanitisers,
water.
"I've
told
my
photographers
no
selfies
with
celebrities,
maintain
distance,
click
from
at
least
8-10
feet,
no
hand
shake.
Even
if
the
public
is
asking
for
a
selfie,
I've
told
my
team
to
discourage
that
as
well,"
Manav
said.
The
photographer
said
he
keeps
his
team
of
15
on
rotation
to
avoid
any
health
risk.
"If
six
work
today,
the
others
work
tomorrow.
We
are
working
on
half
the
load.
They
all
working
with
masks,
sanitisers
and
water."
Chawla's
instructions
to
his
team
are
also
clear:
Click
pictures
from
a
distance,
no
physical
contact
and
respect
privacy.
"This
is
my
agenda
anyway,
but
in
times
like
these,
I
am
all
the
more
clear
about
the
guidelines.
If
the
star
isn't
comfortable
getting
clicked,
we
won't."
Viral
had
initially
decided
to
go
offline
but
with
competitors
still
working
that
was
not
a
viable
option.
"I'm
keeping
a
balance
of
both,
of
working
and
taking
precaution,
as
my
competitors
haven't
stopped
working.
I'm
not
going
strict
on
my
team,
but
we
are
working
with
full
precaution.
All
of
them
are
wearing
masks.
While
the
photographers
battle
dwindling
Instagram
engagements,
what
works
the
best
is
a
spotting
of
Saif
Ali
Khan
and
Kareena
Kapoors's
three
year
old
son,
Taimur.
"Taimur
creates
huge
engagement,
every
day
he
will
come
out
and
do
something.
The
momentum
in
general
has
slowed
down
but
Taimur's
spotting
hasn't
stopped,"
Viral
said.
Taimur
is
one
star
even
the
paparazzis
regret
missing
irrespective
of
the
situation,
Shah
said.
Varinder
said
his
Instagram
engagement
shot
up
recently
thanks
to
the
toddler.
"His
engagement,
his
reach
is
excellent.
Coronavirus
or
not,
Taimur
will
always
be
strong,"
Varinder
said
while
maintaining
that
they
follow
strict
guidelines
in
clicking
his
pictures
from
a
distance.