We, the media, writes Sarita A Tanwar

Last week as Sohail Khan and his father emerged from a club, post dinner, and had lights flashed in their eyes and mics thrust under their noses. Enraged, Sohail hurled expletives at the camerapersons. He apologised a day later.

A few years ago, I watched  a news report of Abhishek Bachchan losing his temper at reporters at Lilavati hospital. His father was on a stretcher and the cameramen had surrounded the ambulance, hindering the patient from being taken to the hospital. 

These are just two instances that come to mind. There have been many similar incidents. Whether I wear my media hat or not, I think it’s wrong of celebrities to misbehave with photographers and TV reporters for doing their job. But I can honestly say that I would have done exactly what Sohail and Abhishek did, in a similar situation. 

Last year, I was walking on Juhu beach with my Thumbelina-sized, frail  mom. She was a few steps behind me, when I saw a 20-something girl with two boys, standing about six to seven feet away from the water. Every time the sea ebbed, she ran towards the water, and every time the waves came in, she ran back without turning around, still facing the sea. I cautioned her to be careful, as I passed her. 

She continued her prancing, so I stopped to warn mom to be careful. Before I could catch her attention, the ‘beach bum’ came running backwards and was about to crash into my mom. The boys with her yelled out in time and she stopped her blind dash. The fear that she could have knocked down my mom and hurt her, set me off. Livid, I began screaming at her. Finally, mom had to drag me away. Had she crashed into my mom, I would have thrashed her (and I wouldn’t have apologised later). It’s normal to be protective of our parents as they age. It’s not just about parents, though. 

A few months ago, Aishwarya’s spokesperson said to me, “The reason she still carries Aaradhya in her arms is that she is afraid that she might hurt herself when cameramen and photographers surround her at airports. Also, the child is afraid, because of all the shouting and harsh lights in her face.”  I can only imagine how terrifying the situation must be for a child when a dozen or more begin to shout her mom’s name and flashbulbs going off in her face. 

But this situation is only going to get worse. It needs a solution. My worry is, nothing will change till someone is badly hurt. And I am not just talking about actors. A female photographer at the previous organisation I was with, was telling me how much she hated her job every time she is jostled and pushed by her own colleagues in the madness that ensues after spotting a celebrity. 

There are about five top Hindi and English channels; 10, if you really want to stretch it. But there are about 50 cameramen waiting at airports, outside restaurants, star homes, nightclubs  gyms, etc, waiting to capture actors in their frames. It’s only going to get worse because according to a publicist, “The number of cameramen at events is increasing with every passing day. For an event, if you call only the main 10-15 channels, they inform the others and three times the number of cameramen show up. That is why the situation gets out of control.”

In Hollywood, the paparazzi was regularly landing up at the schools of celebrity kids, According to E! News, “Jennifer Garner began a crusade which has now resulted in protecting children of celebrities from lurking (and often aggressive) photographers.” Recently, Justin Beiber made it known that he will not be posing for pictures with fans anymore. It’s only a matter of time before actors here also adopt methods to safeguard their private moments. 

I don’t really blame the photographers/cameraman for their get-the-story-at-any-cost, although I believe they can maintain decorum. I have seen photographers put their lives at risk while perching themselves at crazy angles n the walls of Lilavati hospital when Dilip Kumar was hospitalised recently.  I’m sure they don’t enjoy being looked at upon as a crazy mob.

There are three times the number of cameramen at Cannes than at any of our events, and yet there is no ugliness. Why can’t we learn from them? Also, actors regularly apologise for their actions. Paps doing the same is unheard of.