Shutterbugs on B-Town stars and their starry ways

In most countries abroad the paparazzi form an integral part of the media capturing celebrities through their lenses and freezing them in time While in our country the shutterbugs and the stars have been known to maintain a much cordial relationship compared to their Hollywood counterparts with passing time they are no longer shy of tailing stars back to their homes or clicking candid holiday shotsu00a0 Though some stars have reacted severely to their private space being encroached upon most take it in their stride Shah Rukh Khan recently even hosted a special screening of his latest blockbuster for photographers and camerapersons in the industry A day after we celebrated World Photography Day we catch up with six shutterbugs belonging to different generations to recount their experiences dealing with stars and their starry ways Manav Manglani Active since 1999 Best experience So far Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone have been the ones whom Irsquove found admirable for their cool attitude Katrina Kaif used to be very mediafriendly but now she seems too cautious Her bodyguards too are hyperactive Ranbir Kapoor too doesnrsquot appear very comfortable nowadays Aishwarya RaiBachchan with baby Aaradhya at the airport Amusing anecdotes I once chased Tom Cruise from airport to a hotel in Colaba He was travelling with Anil Kapoor and I was running parallel to his car In the end he got out at his destination and obliged to my photo request Katrina Kaif hiding her face from the paparazzi Challenge Accessibility to stars is not an issue but our job could get tiring because yoursquore standing for hours and therersquos this undeniable fear of losing moments Competition is at its worst sometimes because yoursquore competing for the best shot For the record Getting an exclusive picture at an event isnrsquot as big a challenge as to capture the stars in their casual best out on the street Jagdish Aurangabadkar Active since 1967 Best experience In my experience Irsquove noticed that good artistes tend to be friendlier with photographers For instance Manoj Kumar and Shabhana Azmi There were no airs of stardom when they were in front of us Of the current lot I like Shah Rukh and Anushka Sharma Amitabh Bachchan Amusing anecdotes Raj Kapoor was once shooting at Azad Maidan and I was there too I took liberty of shooting his pictures Apparently he wasnrsquot in a good mood and expressed his displeasure They are humans too and they have every right to be in a bad mood too Jagdish Aurangabadkar with Dilip Kumaru00a0 Challenge As the famous line goes being at the right place at the right time isnrsquot a mere coincidence It applies to celeb photographers more than anybody else Nothing is still in this line of business For the record Actors donrsquot have that sort of respect photographers anymore Yesteryears stars used to play card with photographers during breaks That era is gone for good Ashish Rane MiD DAY photographer Active since 1994 Best experience Whenever Irsquove shot Amitabh Bachchan a sense of joy followed His towering personality and his impeccable punctuality adds to the legend that he is It has always been a pleasure to capture him in a picture A caricature of Amitabh Bachchan painted by Raj Thackeray Amusing anecdotes I once caught Salman Khan on his bicycle at 16th Road Khar He stopped my bike and asked me to hand over my camera There was this point where we were both holding the camera me worrying that hersquoll break it and he being at his scary best In the end he let me go and the photos appeared next day in our paper Salman Khan taking a ride on his bicycle Challenge The toughest part is the bhaagdaud running around related to our job Unpredictability is the other name of our profession You canrsquot plan anything Anything can happen anywhere You have to be on your toes For the record Getting stuff done within the deadline is what keeps you going We canrsquot take forever for the best shot Viral Bhayani Active since 2005 Best experience Although all stars are accommodating most of the time my personal favourites are Shah Rukh Khan Vidya Balan and Priyanka Chopra Therersquos a certain level of ease in which they connect with the cameramen at work Vidya Balan smiling wide Amusing anecdotes More often than not the aura around Salman Khan could be intimidating but thatrsquos also where the thrill lies Irsquove seldom shot him in a good mood Hersquos usually very cautious and that makes my job far more interesting Priyanka Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan Challenge The worst part about my kind of job is the ceaseless wait No wonder there arenrsquot many willing celeb photographers around because working late into midnight with no assurance of photographs can be very discouraging For the record The stars may not agree but they look far better without makeup Even the fans like to see lsquorealrsquo people Pradeep Chandra Active since 1973 Best experience Akshay Kumar is another personal fave of mine His level of professionalism is so high Along with him Irsquoll always rate Bachchan family highly I recently received a message from Abhishek Bachchan asking me ldquoAre you free tomorrowrdquo when it should be the other way around Deepika Padukone at her radiant best Amusing anecdotes Dev Anand wasnrsquot very fond of the culture of having PAs and PRs He was the kind of person whorsquod pick up the phone himself and expect you to pick up yours Similarly Shashi Kapoor was very elegant Yash Chopra relaxing Challenge As a photographer you have to deal with the celebsrsquo mood swings I remember Govinda once making me wait for seven hours and being friendly on finally meeting It was as if only a starrsquos time is valuable and nobody elsersquos For the record Among the young actresses Deepika Padukone has the most photogenic face in Bollywood right now Pradeep Bandekar Active since 1977 Best experience Of the current lot I believe SRK Aamir and Katrina are the finest to work with Having said that the yesteryear stars were easier to handle Today almost everybody is difficult Very few try to be cooperative as the number of photographers has increased Sanjay Dutt with Maanayata and Mahesh Bhatt Amusing anecdotes I remember Rekha used to be the least mediafriendly actress of her times It was almost impossible to get a picture of her Almost every single shot of her was a treasure to keep The industry has become more streamlined today so that thrill is amiss presently Ranbir Kapoor sharing a laugh with Ashutosh Gowariker Challenge The challenge is to connect with the stars themselves and build a rapport They donrsquot remember your name there are too many stars and way too many shutterbugs around Things were simpler once upon a time For the record Thanks to Internet and overexposure on TV Bollywood actors have gradually started receding into their cocoonhellipfar from our camera