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Journalism of Courage
Back in 2016, Nagindas Chawl resident Aniket Shashikant Manjrekar worked as a receptionist at a swimming pool in a high-rise building in south Mumbai, earning Rs 8,000 a month. With limited means and a desire to go to college, his options narrowed when his father, a ship worker, had to quit his job at Mazgaon Dock. Manjrekar stepped up to support his family of five.
Three months ago, his mother, Rekha, proudly draped a blue silk sari with silver detailing to attend Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding reception in Mumbai. “I jumped with joy when Aniket told me about the invite. The reception was the next day, but I made sure to get everything done in time, from my eyebrows to a facial,” she says, as she serves us coffee in their newly renovated 10×12 sq ft kholi in Naralwadi, Byculla.
The home now boasts a new steel almirah, a washing machine and a cooler. One wall features an LED TV while an open kitchen sits opposite the entrance. The washroom that once relied on a tarpaulin sheet for privacy is now a concrete structure with a door. The mezzanine floor allows the 27-year-old and his brothers to retire at night. Manjrekar credits this change of fortune to his profession: he is a pap, short for paparazzo.
The term traces back to Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita, where Paparazzo, an intrusive photographer, aggressively pursued celebrities. The term gained global popularity — or notoriety — over the years. The paparazzi culture in the West received a huge backlash after a frenzied car chase in Paris led to the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
In Mumbai, Yogen Shah, widely regarded as India’s first paparazzo, recalls the genesis of this culture. “It all started at director Subhash Ghai’s daughter Meghna’s wedding in 2002. I was assigned by a publication to cover the event but when I arrived there, I wasn’t allowed in. Upset, I called the journalist who commissioned me, but she asked me to come back. Rather than leaving empty-handed, I decided to photograph celebrities entering and exiting the venue. Those pictures made it everywhere,” Shah recalls.
While celebrity photography has long existed, with photographers covering film premieres, birthday celebrations and other events, along with exclusive features for celebrity magazines — which were notorious for uncovering scandalous scoops on Bollywood actors — the early 2000s marked a transformative period for photographers in India. The rise of digital media saw the emergence of entertainment websites like SantaBanta, GlamSham and IndiaGlitz, which sought photographs of Bollywood celebrities. Along with Shah, other photographers such as Manav Manglani, Viral Bhayani and Varinder Chawla entered the scene, and have since come to dominate it.
“Bollywood was getting on this digital bandwagon. Vashu Bhagnani wanted to launch a website for each film, like The Hero: Love Story of a Spy starring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta, and Armaan starring Amitabh Bachchan,” says Manglani who started his career as a graphic and website designer in 2001 with the now debt-ridden Pooja Entertainment. His job initially involved sending photos from film shoots to publications for promotion. Later, while working at Bollywood Hungama (then IndiaFM.com), he attended events, and by 2004, he began freelancing.
Those early years were a grind. Manglani, a resident of Thane, would leave home at 7 am and take a train or a bus to reach studios like Film City in Goregaon East, Filmistan in Goregaon West, Filmalaya in Andheri West or Mehboob in Bandra. Chawla’s life was equally hectic. “I’ve had most of my lunches either in studio canteens or at food stalls outside Juhu bus stand,” he laughs. He, too, covered four to five events a day, back when photography still relied on film rolls. “I’d rush to the 24-hour studio in Andheri West late at night to develop my negatives, selecting the best shots for printing. The next morning, I’d hand deliver these prints to publishing houses,” says Chawla. He fondly recalls the joy of upgrading to a digital camera, which revolutionised his work.
The grind of the early 2000s has paid off but back then, they would survive on a sleep of a few hours and were constantly finding innovative ways to get candid shots. “I neglected my family entirely for many, many years,” says Chawla, who married in 2005 and has two sons, aged 14 and nine.
“I would do all sorts of things to get a good shot,” recalls Shah. He shares how he once tipped two taxi drivers to help him get the right light without alerting the celebrities. “There was a popular hangout spot in Juhu where celebrities often came to party. To stay out of sight, I’d sit on the steps of a shop opposite the entrance. But how could I take photos at night without using a flash? If I used a flash, they’d know I was there. So, I’d pay two taxi drivers to park their cars in such a way that I could hide, and their tail lights would give me the perfect lighting for my shots,” he laughs.
Taimur: The Turning Point
Shobhaa De, who has been the editor of several magazines, including Stardust, says the concept of the paparazzi is only 10 years old in India. “Pap culture exploded with Taimur’s arrival. He became the most-stalked star kid in Bollywood history,” she notes.
Paparazzis agree that the birth of Taimur Ali Khan in 2016, was a landmark event in their profession. Public demand for photos of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s son quickly eclipsed even the biggest Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. “At one point, 25 to 30 bikes would chase Taimur’s car just for a picture,” recalls Chawla, adding that later they realised the dangers of chasing him to school. It became so overwhelming that Saif once lost his cool at them incessantly flashing cameras at Taimur’s face, saying, “Bas karo yaar, bachcha andha ho jaayega (Stop it, the child will go blind)”. Both parents have since addressed the issue in various interviews. “Today, Raha (Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s daughter) has that same craze,” adds Chawla.
Over time, paparazzi here in India have adopted restraint, partially due to boundaries set by public figures such as cricketer Virat Kohli and actor Anushka Sharma, who have made clear requests to keep their children out of the media glare. Others have reached informal agreements with photographers. “When we learned that Ranbir and Alia took their daughter for morning strolls, we managed to get her photo, but Ranbir called all of us to their building for a breakfast spread. He showed us photos of Raha and promised us that they would introduce her to us properly, asking for some time until then,” shares Manjrekar, adding that they fulfilled this promise on Christmas last year.
The invasion of privacy isn’t limited to celebrity children. Even now, they have a complicated relationship with Jaya Bachchan, who is often heard scolding them. Last year, Bhatt publicly called out photographers for taking pictures of her inside her apartment from a neighbouring building. She took to Instagram to denounce the “invasion of privacy” and tagged Mumbai police. This incident has left a lasting impression on the paparazzi, leading to stricter self regulations. Manglani, a well-known photographer, now has a list of dos and don’ts for his team: “Don’t enter private property. Be respectful — don’t shout, misbehave or call out people with phrases like ‘Ae Kartik!’ Look presentable, and if someone doesn’t want to be photographed, respect that and don’t take their pictures.” Similarly, Chawla closely monitors the content that goes on his social media platforms. “If there’s anything controversial, demeaning, or inappropriate — like a wardrobe malfunction — I won’t post it. And if one of my team members has uploaded it, I remove it immediately.”
The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a major blow to the industry, but it has since bounced back. “I now have over 200 clients,” says Manglani, listing brands that pay to feature their ads and campaign shots on his page. It may all look orchestrated, but he insists that’s not the case. “My team puts in a lot of effort, conducting extensive research and building connections to secure exclusives. For instance, we were the first to capture a photo of Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal on their wedding day in Rajasthan. The shot was taken from a considerable distance, but it was the result of our groundwork and field experience. That day, we went to the sarpanch’s house, which had a terrace with a direct —though distant — view of the hotel. One of my teammates noticed that the spot visible from the terrace was also perfect for sunset photos, so we decided to wait there. It paid off — they came for pictures, and we got our shot.”
Today, the paparazzi business is thriving, with pioneers managing teams of 10 to 40 people, including photographers, videographers and social media managers. Social media, in particular, has become a crucial part of the business. Viral Bhayani, for instance, boasts 11.8 million followers on Instagram, while Manglani, Shah and Chawla each have around 6 million followers.
The younger generation, including Manjrekar who works with Chawla, represents a shift in the industry. Most of them hail from lower-middle-class families and often enter the profession after being delivery boys. When hired, they start with a salary of Rs 8,000 to 10,000, which can eventually rise to Rs 35,000. Their workdays often involve trailing celebrities from morning gym sessions to late-night parties. Most of them work for veterans like Shah, Manglani, Chawla or Bhayani and are usually the first to know if someone is dating or is pregnant.
For example, Sagar Satish Kadam’s day starts with rounds at popular gyms in Juhu, including iThink Fitness, AntiGravity, and The Tribe, the latter co-owned by actor Kriti Sanon. “We usually find something outside the gym. Then I visit celebrity-frequented restaurants like Kitchen Garden, One8 Commune and Starbucks,” says Kadam, 26, who worked as a delivery boy before pursuing a photography diploma and reaching out to a paparazzo on social media. He currently lives in Diva, Thane, and travels 45 km to Juhu — the neighbourhood that’s home to many Bollywood actors, directors and producers, including Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Akshay Kumar and Sara Ali Khan.
“From Abhishek Bachchan to Tiger Shroff, Kartik Aaryan, Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor, everyone shows up at Jamnabai (school) turf on Sundays. But nothing compares to the crowd that gathers when MS Dhoni is there, especially since this area has a large south Indian community,” Manjrekar explains, as we ride through the celebrity-lined streets of Juhu on his Activa scooter.
He is a familiar face at these hotspots, where even the security guards greet him with a nod. “Sometimes, they even tip us off about which celebrity might show up later. If there’s nothing going on, we park ourselves outside Kromakay Salon during the day and outside PVR in the evening. We always find something,” he says. Manjrekar started his career earning Rs 13,000 a month, and now makes Rs 30,000. Seeing potential in this line of work, he encouraged his twin to join him — Abhishek now handles videography.
While Manjrekar was the first to capture a photo of Anushka during her pregnancy, Kadam snagged the first shot of Shah Rukh Khan on the set of Pathaan. “Taking photos on a film set is forbidden,” says Manjrekar, “so sometimes I pay cotton candy- or chaat-sellers to hide behind their carts, using the gaps to snap a shot. The hospital sequence of Student of the Year 2 was shot in Byculla. When I found out, I went to the hospital. It was pouring that day and I was wearing a white T-shirt. I opened my umbrella and crouched behind the bushes on the hospital lawn to take photos. When I got home, drenched and muddy, my mother thought I’d had a fall!” he laughs. “I’ve hidden under taxis, climbed roofs — whatever it takes.”
Even tip-offs require strategy. To get the perfect shot, it’s crucial that the celebrity looks directly into the camera. “Left, right, centre,” are more than just directions — they are calls to grab their attention. Building rapport with celebs can help, too. “I call Alia ‘aalu’,” says Manjrekar with a grin, sharing how a bit of banter can lead to an interesting photo or video.
Then there are the videos that went viral where the paparazzi were mispronouncing names of international celebrities like Gigi Hadid, Tom Holland and Zendaya during events like Dior’s fashion show and at the launch of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, last year. “We didn’t know who they were,” they admit, adding, “We were seeing them for the first time.” But what about ‘Nikwa’ for Nick Jonas? “It’s only to get his attention!”
Uorfi, Orry, and a full circle
“I am what I am today because of the paps. Jis din ye pap culture chala gaya, us din Uorfi Javed bhi gayi. Khatm. (The day paparazzi culture ends, Uorfi Javed will also be over),” said Uorfi Javed, a social media sensation known for her out-of-the-box fashion sense, in the reality show, Follow Kar Lo Yaar, which chronicles her life. Her understanding of the paparazzi’s influence on her career is echoed by many in the industry. Her unconventional style — last week, she wore a dress with rotating blades attached to her waist — along with her media-savvy presence and punctuality, has made her a favourite among the paparazzi.
“Uorfi gets maximum paps today,” shares Manjrekar, who has seen her rise. “If Uorfi and an actor are standing within 50 metres of each other, Uorfi is likely to attract more paps. She is always dressed interestingly, and those photos and videos work very well. Plus, she is always on time. She has never made us wait, and as much love as she gets from the paps, she gives back. Just recently, she gifted us watches.” Uorfi even went a step further, arranging a special screening of the reality show for the paparazzi, further cementing this mutual respect.
“We build the hype around celebrities, and we can also kill it,” admits a paparazzo, in his mid-20s, requesting anonymity. “We helped build Kartik Aaryan’s image. He wasn’t that famous initially.”
What about Orry (Orhan Awatramani), a socialite who has gained fame for his close connections with Bollywood celebrities, including Janhvi Kapoor? “It was my team that spotted him first. He was often seen with actors, either entering or exiting parties, which piqued our curiosity. We started asking around and learned that he was friends with these actors. When we began posting his photos and videos, people became interested, and ‘Who is Orry?’ quickly became clickbait,” says Manglani. Manjrekar adds, “Orry also has a great relationship with all of us. We message him directly, and he always responds. He even sends us gifts on Christmas.”
When asked if they’ve “killed” anyone’s career, paps deny it but note that they demand respect. If a celebrity doesn’t treat them well, they might be sidelined. “Disha Patani, for example, refused to pose or even let us take candid shots at events. She’d walk in with her back to us. We decided not to cover her. At the Malang trailer launch in January 2020, all the paps put their cameras down until she left the frame. She went backstage and cried. It was only after Anil Kapoor apologised on her behalf that we resumed taking photos,” shares a pap, on anonymity.
This isn’t the first time paps had “banned” a celebrity. In 2007, at Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai’s wedding, tight security was in place. When photographers tried to get a glimpse of the ceremony, the men manning the security allegedly mistreated them, leading to a media boycott of the Bachchans. The ban was lifted only after Amitabh Bachchan personally organised a meeting at one of the leading hotels and met with them.
The shift in the paparazzi’s role over the last two decades is stark. “We’ve gone from being nobodies to becoming essential for every actor, movie, and brand promotion,” says Manglani. “Today, we are invited to events, flown in for promotions and given due respect. There was a time when we were pushed aside, but now visibility is key for everyone, and we provide that,” he adds.
While some major celebrity weddings still don’t allow media coverage, the approach has softened. Celebrities now take care of paparazzi by offering food, water and even step out after the wedding to pose for them, as seen at the weddings of Varun Dhawan, Athiya Shetty, Dia Mirza, Alia-Ranbir Kapoor and Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant.
“We were in Jamnagar for 10 days, flown in by the Ambanis,” says Manjrekar, who was part of the team that extensively covered the wedding and was one of only three photographers to get a photo with Rihanna when she attended the pre-wedding event. “At the Mumbai reception, Nita Ambani personally invited us and our families to attend, which was a proud moment for me — especially when my mother got to attend the event,” he beams.
Even as paparazzi maintain that their work is less orchestrated than it appears, De argues, “Most of the paps are on the payroll of stars and the ‘spotting’ is an organised activity. There is an overdose of star coverage. People are bored with the predictable airport and red carpet looks. What’s missing is spice. International paps make money out of genuine scoops. In India, paps are paid publicists. They need to up their game to stay interesting,” she says.
