Fans, fame aur yeh obsession: The life of an Indian celebrity

Topangle video footage of Katrina Kaif making her way through waistdeep water at the Mahakumbh flooded social media and news channels last week Another video that went viral was Kaif emerging from a dip with a man saying ldquoYe mera bhai aur mein aur ye rahi Katrina Kaifrdquo as moves the camera from his face to KaifSoon outrage emerged about the angle at which the video was shot and the criticism grew when throughout the day our screens were littered with drone footage of Kaif being pursued in the river by a horde of menmdasha scene that looked eerily like wildlife channelsrsquo aerial footage of hunter and huntedThe video saw comments like ldquoThis is terrible How are people so shamelessrdquo and ldquoPunya karne gaye the ek aur paap kar aayerdquo they went to do good and ended up sinning The debate soon spiralled into two factionsmdashhow much canshould a celebrity be okay with and on the other hand the view that this is the price of fameKatrina Kaif being recorded while she takes a dip at the Triveni Sangam PicyoutubeshowshaActor Ronit Roy who has been providing security for Bollywood actors for the last 25 years says celebs have to wise up about how they operate in public spaces and that the cost of fame is the attention they receive ldquoIf a celeb is out in public there is always a chance of invasion of personal space for a selfie or whatever We have to understand that for somebody who suddenly spots a huge star itrsquos a great moment and they want to record it for perpetuityrdquo Roy tells us over the phoneWhat if a celebrity is having a bad day however ldquoThey may not want a photograph and this is why celebrities have a team of security professionals called the close protection officers who are responsible for your immediate security If the celeb does not want their personal space to be breached they must instruct their security to that effectrdquo he says In situations like the Mahakumbh Roy insists that actorscelebs need to be more prepared ldquoIf somebody comes through my door that is invasion But if I go to the market I cannot be held responsible for how people in the market reactrdquo he addsSo how do people who work with actors and celebs manage What do they think about the debate Radhika Nihalani Founder amp CEO of Think Ink Communications amp Think Talkies has worked with celebrities including Aditya Roy Kapur for over two decades and talks about their role as a shield for a celebrity and a mediator for a fan ldquoOf course celebrities are used to being constantly in the public eyemdashespecially today where everyone has a camera and almost everything gets photographed and is out there for public consumption We in a way act like the bridge between fans media and celebrities We walk that tightrope to ensure that fans get their moment with the celebrities but the boundaries of their space arenrsquot crossed Celebrities are as human as you and I and we all must never forget thatrdquoAditya Roy Kapur tries to be polite while an overenthusiastic fan tries to kiss himTheir biggest worry might surprise youmdashldquoThe biggest challenge is to ensure that there is no harm caused to the fans even if some are being overbearingrdquo says NihalaniParul Parmar founder of New Narrative Consultancy who has previously managed Ranveer Allahbadia says ldquoThe biggest challenge in ensuring a celebrityrsquos physical safety is the unpredictability of human behaviour add to it the celebritiesrsquo hypervisibility these days and yoursquove got a possible storm waiting to hit you You can plan as meticulously as yoursquod want but a single determined individual or an unexpected crowd surge can upend everything Irsquove encountered situations where fans bypass barriers or when obsessive behaviour escalates into credible threats Technology adds another layer realtime location leaks on social media can turn a quiet outing into a safety nightmare within secondsrdquo says ParulShe recalls an incident where all her experience was put to the test ldquoDuring the Dabangg 1 promotions in Bengaluru Sonakshi Sinha and Salman Khan got swarmed by a rowdy crowd so bad that even security couldnrsquot handle it and it was chaos for everyone The actors too were hurtrdquoA man approached Poonam Pandey on the pretext of getting a selfie but tried to kiss her on the cheek instead PicYoutubeshowshaKushal Gulab a senior journalist who started her career in entertainment and covered stars like Kajol and Madhuri Dixit talks about a time when even journalists had a better sense of boundaries ldquoWe could talk to the stars and there was mutual respect You could go to Film City and walk into five film sets and get your news for the day and the next but now itrsquos a different storyrdquoAs for fan behaviour she recalls ldquoPeople were crazy then as well no doubt but that was sheer love Now what I gather is that the fans almost feel entitled Entitled to take a selfie for a hug for the attention and love of an actor Earlier if you didnrsquot get an autograph it meant just disappointment nothing more Today they feel they deserve a selfierdquoParmar remarks ldquoMaybe the solution lies in adaptabilitymdashlike maintaining a tightknit team that can pivot instantly leveraging realtime intel and building relationships with law enforcement or venue staff ahead of time Staying one step ahead of the craziness is what we aim for because in this job craziness is the only thing you can bet onrdquoSo what advice do they give to a distraught actorcelebrity Roy believes in tough love ldquoMany celebs have made mistakes in terms of their security despite our advice So I have a talk with them if I feel they have not understood the situation or our security strategy I think todayrsquos celebs are kinder to their fans and it might take time but they are always gratefulrdquo says RoyParmar on the other hand builds more of a community for the celeb ldquoThe emotional toll on celebrities can be immense compared to us considering theyrsquore facing constant exposure Many lean on trusted inner circles therapists or structured downtime to process it all Irsquove seen firsthand how they develop resilience often compartmentalising their public and private selvesrdquo she saysTo all the celebsactors bear with us until we grow and learn to be better fanshellip XOXO