Whether they're making rounds on roaring motorbikes or guarding an airport, India's paparazzi have gone from being unwanted to becoming an essential link in the vast machine that is the Bollywood film industry. A world where competition is getting tougher.
Times have changed for Manav Manglani, a celebrity photographer known for spending hours perched in a tree to spy on star Shilpa Shetty's wedding in 2009.We (…) were considered outcasts“, says the paparazzi, remembering his beginnings, who, 15 years later, has more than 6.5 million subscribers on the social network Instagram.
“We're part of the system now“, says Manav Manglani. Today he manages a team of almost 20 photographers who he sends to monitor sports halls, fashionable cafes and luxury hotels. The group has divided up the coverage of the megalopolis of Bombay, with one person even responsible for scanning the airport full-time.
Bollywood, the heart of the Hindi-language film industry, has long been the center of film production in the world's most populous nation and is a major cultural export hub. As India is obsessed with celebrities, photographing them can become a lucrative job.
Bollywood was born a century ago, but it wasn't until the 1970s that the trade press began spreading gossip about “the interior“, says Ram Kamal Mukherjee, a former editor-in-chief of Stardust Magazine. This publication dedicated to Bollywood revealed “stories from studios, bedrooms and makeup vans“, he explains. Paparazzi appeared in India in the early 2000s, generally setting out on their own.
But with social media's insatiable demand for content and easy access through smartphones, they're no longer content with “just provide images“and also contribute to the narrative of the environment, continues Ram Kamal Mukherjee. He cites examples such as productions where young actors pretend to spontaneously hand money to beggars.”There is a brand construction“, souligne M. Mukherjee.
This change took place in parallel with the evolution of the industry, in particular spectators who are losing interest in the big screen, disrupted by streaming platforms, commonly called OTT services or “over-the-top” in India. According to observers, these changes have helped the paparazzi to develop an advertising role.
“As an influencer with followers and a very popular page, helping to promote films, OTTs and brands (…) we are big now“, assures Manav Manglani. Indian films released in theaters have generated revenue”historical” of $1.4 billion at the box office in 2023, according to consulting firm EY.
Bollywood must face film production centers in other Indian languages. According to EY, of the 1,796 films released in 2023 in the country, only 218 were in Hindi, the traditional product of Bollywood.
Mandvi Sharma, former publicist of megastar Shah Rukh Khan, believes that both camps can be “codependents“, especially for young actors hoping that photographers will increase their notoriety.”Things have changed“, assures Viral Bhayani, a photographer with 12 million subscribers on Instagram, so a decade earlier, he must have “beg“the slightest information on upcoming events.
In order to better speak to their audience, photographers are taking more and more candid shots, instead of traditional sessions on the red carpet or for magazines. Although their careers and those of the stars are more intertwined today, old frictions remain, particularly with big stars. In 2023, Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt filed a complaint for “serious damage” to privacy after two photographers took pictures of her in her house from a nearby roof.
Producers, directors and brands”watch carefully who I present (…) what is happening and how popular this celebrity is“, thinks Madav Manglani, describing the reactions to these images as a barometer. “We used to chase after them (…) We wanted money and we were paid per photo (…) Now, it goes both ways. They need us and we need them“, he summarizes. Sneh Zala, a younger paparazzi, perceives his job as a service for fans and stars. “I want fans (…) to see where their favorite celebrities go, what they do with their lives“, he explains. “I'm just an intermediary“.
