After Alia Bhatt lambasted a media publication for taking unauthorised pictures of her in her home and making them public, several Bollywood stars have been extending their support and criticising the outlet for invading their privacy. From Anushka Sharma and Janhvi Kapoor to Karan Johar and Arjun Kapoor, members of the Hindi film fraternity have publicly called out the media organisation for clicking the pictures of Alia without her consent and posting them on social media. Actress Sushmita Sen also shared a post about privacy being a “myth” in the case of celebrities. The former Miss Universe reshared a note originally posted by author Huma Tanweer on the degrading “paparazzi culture” on her Instagram Stories. It read, “In a world made smaller by the virtue of the internet, technology and social media, privacy is but a myth. And if you are a celebrity, you have it worse.”
“With the paparazzi culture at its peak, there is little that can be kept hidden. Guys, how can you catch someone off guard despite their repeated requests to the media for privacy? When are we going to draw the lines? Are we becoming nothing more than PR machinery? Our right to privacy cannot be in any manner violated. Media frequently blur the lines between personal and social lives. They substantially confuse the two and the outcome is obnoxious and unscrupulous. Since we all have a psychological need for privacy, there should inevitably be a dichotomy between a celebrity's private and public lives. The media should refrain from intruding on this demarcation line. The practice of using such news to boost channel ratings and garner the most viewers is by no means appropriate,” read the full post. The author also tagged Alia Bhatt, her sister Shaheen Bhatt and Mumbai Police on her Stories.
See Sushmita Sen's Instagram Stories here:
Alia Bhatt, who has time and again requested the media to respect her privacy, especially after the birth of her daughter Raha, slammed a particular media portal for taking photos of her from her personal space at home. She berated them for even putting out the pictures as “exclusive” content on social media. “Are you kidding me? I was at my house having a perfectly normal afternoon sitting in my living room when I felt something watching me... I looked up and saw two men on the terrace of my neighbouring building with a camera right at me! In what world is this okay and allowed? This is a gross invasion of someone's privacy and it's safe to say all lines were crossed," the actress wrote while sharing the pictures of herself uploaded by the outlet on Instagram.
Alia Bhatt also tagged Mumbai Police in her post on Tuesday evening. Taking an action on the actress' invasion of privacy, the Khar Police has asked Alia to file a written complaint against the paparazzo for a detailed investigation, reported news agency ANI.
Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, after welcoming their baby daughter, had met paparazzi in January and requested them to not click any pictures of the little munchkin.
Alia Bhatt isn't the first actress who has slammed the said media outlet for taking unauthorised pictures of celebs and posting them online. A few years ago, Anushka Sharma also called out the media house for sharing photos of her resting at her house without her consent.