Sara Tendulkar. Pic via Instagram
Amid growing concerns around the paparazzi culture, Sara Tendulkar recently took to Instagram Stories on May 21 to slam a paparazzo for posting derogatory and body-shaming comments regarding her appearance. The incident has once again sparked a debate over the culture of celebrity 'spotting', body-shaming, and the erosion of personal boundaries.
It all started after paparazzo Tahir Jasus posted an Instagram video of Sara Tendulkar being spotted at the airport. The video included a caption in a Hindi caption, which read: "Moti wali Sara hai, bagal wali bhabhi hai (The fat one is Sara, the woman next to her is her sister-in-law)." The paparazzo was referring to Sara Tendulkar and her sister-in-law, entrepreneur Saaniya Chandhok, who married Sara's brother, Arjun Tendulkar, in March 2026.
Sara did not hesitate as she lashed out at the photojournalist. Sharing a screenshot of the post on her Instagram Stories, Sara directly tagged the person, calling out the derogatory nature of his content.
"You are disgusting. This is not 'journalism.' Leave. Us. Alone," Sara wrote. After Sara shared the story, the paparazzo allegedly deleted the post. However, Sara seemed to be in no mood to let go. She followed up with a sharp reminder that deletion does not equal accountability. Resharing the story, she added the caption, "You can delete your post, but that doesn't make you any less disgusting," with nauseated emojis.
Sara's reaction comes at a time when several other celebrities, including actresses, have spoken up against being papped from inappropriate angles by paparazzi. Janhvi Kapoor publicly confronted photographers, urging them not to zoom in on her body parts or capture her from unwanted angles.
Similarly, Kantara actress Sapthami Gowda called out paps for zooming in inappropriately on female stars at public events, labelling the behaviour as "disrespectful and unacceptable." She wrote,
"As women in the film industry, we stand together in addressing a recurring issue. Repeatedly, videos and photographs of female actors at public events are shot and circulated from inappropriate angles, with unnecessary zooms that focus on our bodies rather than our work. This behaviour, carried out by a few individuals, is disrespectful and unacceptable."
She further added, "We are here for our craft. We are here for our cinema. We unequivocally condemn deliberate zoom-ins and inappropriate angles. They are clear violations of dignity and will not be normalised or tolerated. We expect those covering events to maintain professionalism, basic respect, and decency."
Kantara Chapter 1 actress Rukmini Vasanth supported Sapthami and condemned the deliberate use of inappropriate angles at public events.
