After a photo of her sitting inside her home was snapped and posted on a media outlet's Instagram page on Tuesday, actor Alia Bhatt slammed the paparazzi. The actor reshared the post and called out Mumbai Police on Instagram Stories for the egregious invasion of privacy.
“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.” Alia Bhatt wrote on her Instagram using the photographs clicked by the paparazzi.
After Bhatt criticised the media source, the picture was removed.
Following her post, Bollywood A-listers defended Alia Bhatt and denounced the media and paparazzi for snapping and sharing the image of the actor having a private moment.
On her Instagram Stories, Soni Razdan wrote, "Shocked and dismayed at this blatant disregard for a person's privacy. Are we really turning into 'that country' now? Where all our cultural norms simply cease to exist when it comes to 'getting the picture'? Hope someone can address this and fast!"
Her sister Shaheen Bhatt wrote, “So it's totally cool to point zoom lenses into people's homes while hiding in neighbouring buildings 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 assault on privacy.
Which is what it is.The lack of basic human decency is honestly terrifying.”
Neetu Kapoor, an actor, and Alia's mother-in-law both responded to the event on Instagram Stories. "This is not right," she said in response to a screenshot she shared of Alia's story. She eventually removed it, perhaps to stop the images from being circulated further.
“There is no justification for this absolutely disgusting invasion of privacy. Everyone from the entertainment industry is always for the media and the paparazzi and are accommodating. But there has to be a limit,” wrote Karan Johar.
Actress Anushka Sharma mentioned her own experience in support of her repeated requests to the media not to identify her daughter Vamika. Sharing the pictures of herself and Virat sitting on their balcony (clicked by a paparazzo) on her Instagram stories wrote, "Despite requesting the said photographer and the publication, they still continue to invade our privacy. Guys! Stop this right now!"
“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.” Shared Arjun Kapoor.
Some of the others who supported Bhatt and criticised the media for breaching her privacy included Malaika Arora and Swara Bhasker shared by writing, “ aliabhatt is right. This is sickening.”
This isn't the first time a famous person has talked about how her privacy has been invaded.
Cricketer Virat Kohli revealed a video from last October that showed someone entering his hotel room while he was out in Perth, Australia. The video showed someone looking through Kohli's room, which contained his personal items like clothing, shoes, hats, cricket gear, and an India jersey.
Then, she removed the post to stop them from spreading further. Many of her industry peers also complained about the media platform for violating their privacy on social media after having similar situations.