Stars need to marry in peace

The Alia Bhatt-Ranbir Kapoor marriage and the brouhaha accompanying it—with some portals even writing about what would happen at the joota-hiding ceremony and about a playlist of songs that are likely to occur—brings up the question of privacy and its violation. Shouldn’t celebrities, especially from the entertainment industry, be given the right to privacy if they so desire? It is one thing to peep into your neighbour’s home when the baraat arrives. To not allow stars to enjoy their happiest moment, is cruel and unethical. Why must they fight for this fundamental right?

Both Alia and Ranbir have instructed all the invitees personally to not speak about their wedding in the press and to not share any photographs from the venue when the ceremony is on. That is no detriment for portals and new channels for trying their luck through the remotest of relatives on both sides of the marriage invitees. Apparently, huge amounts of money are being offered for exclusive wedding pictures taken on the phone which explains why Ranveer and Deepika Padukone did not allow phones at the venue of the wedding. I know of at least two major filmmakers who felt insulted and refused to attend Varun Dhawan’s wedding when the invitees were asked to not bring their phones to the wedding venue.

What does the couple do to ensure privacy during the wedding? Surely if they request privacy the paparazzi should give it to them rather than chasing down the bride and groom’s family members. I understand photographers need that precious picture or else their bosses threaten them with joblessness. But there are times, one needs to put their foot down and a wedding is one such occasion. It is the most important day of their lives. Stop hounding them. The stars, on their part, need to stop being so secretive. Dodging the paparazzi and hiding under oversized sunglasses on the eve of a wedding achieves the opposite of what couples claim they desire the most during weddings. The truth is, the wedding-secrecy syndrome among stars of Bollywood is a symptom of the self-importance that inflict celebrities of India. Nowhere else in the world do film actors address themselves as celebrities. Another peculiarity of Indian celebrities is that they speak of “my fans”. Even the smallest of television actors think there is nothing boastful about fans according to themselves.

Well, fan worship works both ways. The same fans would love to know more about your wedding. You cannot tantalize the fans with titbits on your special day served through marketing teams.  It is contradictory to every protestation of privacy that stars make on their wedding plans.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the  Latest News _,_  Trending News _,_  Cricket News _,_  Bollywood News _,_  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook _,_  Twitter  and  Instagram _._