Paparazzi answers how they find whereabouts of celebs, if stars pay them: ‘They never pay’

Celebrities get clicked at all hours of the day and the people behind the cameras talk about the growing culture of paparazzi in India.

One of the photographers mentioned that someone of Alia or Ranbir's stature has to be spotted and searched and only then they can be clicked. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)

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Social media is filled with celebrity photographs and videos and sometimes, you can’t help but know what a particular celebrity wore to the gym just this morning. The overwhelming paparazzi culture in India isn’t very old but from the time it started, it has become an ecosystem which benefits both, celebrities as well as the photographers. It has also been said that on various occasions, celebrities call the photographers to certain venues so they can get photographed but do they pay for the same? Apparently not.

In a recent video released by Brut India, photographer Varinder Chawla said that some people do “talk about paid promotions” but “if the content has negativity, we avoid them even if those are paid promotions.” But upon being asked directly if the celebrities pay the photographers, Varinder said, “No, celebrities never pay.”

Varinder said that going around the city and clicking celebrities is indeed a risky business as he spoke about his photographers getting injured in the process. “There is a lot of risk for the boys on the bike”

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The video has photographer Mukund Makarand Utekar explaining how they learn about a particular celebrity’s whereabouts. He shared that someone of Alia Bhatt or Ranbir Kapoor’s stature has to be spotted and searched but those who are not as big a stars as them, the PR companies do the needful and tip off the paparazzi.

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The video also questions a photographer about the privacy of a public figure and to this, photographer Aniket said, “Some people object saying ‘This is a private place’. We say ‘We won’t publish it. Then we publish it.'” He added that as far as privacy was concerned, they don’t enter anyone’s homes but no one can stop them from clicking when a celebrity is out on the street. He said, “We are not entering their homes, right? You are going in a restaurant, we are clicking you from outside the restaurant when you are stepping in your car. That we can click. If you want to hide something, you go somewhere else.”

Aniket added that they try to be nice to those who are pleasant with them but when someone starts getting angry, they make it a point to click them. “If someone asks us nicely, it’s okay. But when someone gets angry or walks with an umbrella or a cover then we make it a point to click their photos,” he said.

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