Absolutely shameless: Bollywood celebs behind Alia Bhatt after ‘Invasion of privacy’

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt took to Instagram on Tuesday to condemn an “invasion of privacy” after she spotted two photographers taking pictures of her from a neighbouring rooftop while she was in her living room. A number of Bollywood stars came out in her defence shortly after Alia called them out on Instagram, slamming the paparazzi for going too far.

Alia wrote, “Are you kidding me? I was at my house, having a perfectly normal afternoon, sitting in my living room when I felt something watching over me. I looked up and saw two men on the terrace of the neighbouring building with a camera right at me. In what world is this okay and is this allowed? This is a gross invasion of someone’s privacy. There’s a line that you must not cross, and it is safe to say that all lines were crossed today.”

Addressing the incident as stalking, Arjun Kapoor wrote on his Instagram stories, “Absolutely shameless. This is crossing all limits if a woman isn’t feeling safe in her own home forget if she is a public figure or not for a second any sane person who takes photographs of public figures for a living needs to know that this is pathetic conduct & these are people in the media we have trusted and shown implicit faith in believing they are here to do a job not to make women feel unsafe or invade one’s privacy. This is nothing short of stalking @mumbaipolice.”

Anushka shared a similar experience when the paparazzi targeted her daughter Vamika in the past. “This is not the first time they are doing this. About two years ago we called them out for the same reason! You’d think it would have made them more respectful of peoples space and privacy. Absolutely shameful! They were also the only guys posting photos of our daughter despite repeated requests,” wrote Anushka.

Janhvi Kapoor shared on her Instagram story how the same thing happened to her when the media outlet in question posted pictures of her exercising in the gym. “This is disgustingly intrusive. This publication has repeatedly done things like this. Including, despite my continuous requests, photographed me unaware; inside the gym I go to while working out through the glass door. In a space that is supposed to be private, where one does not anticipate to get photographed,” read a portion of Janhvi’s post.

Alia’s close friend Karan Johar also posted a story writing, “There is no justification for this absolutely disgusting invasion of privacy.” Everyone in the entertainment industry is always accommodating and supportive of the media and paparazzi. However, there must be a limit. Everyone’s right to feel secure in their own homes is at stake here. This is a fundamental human right, not about celebrities or actors!”

Alia’s sister Shaheen Bhatt also posted a long note on Instagram, saying, “So it’s totally cool to point zoom lenses into people’s home while hiding in neighbouring building for content now? Grown men. With cameras. Hiding across the road. Taking surreptitious photos of an unaware woman without her consent in her home. The fact that the person in the photo is a celebrity does not somehow make this okay. If this was any other situation, with any other person – this would be considered harassment and a complete assualt on privacy.”

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