There is just a split-second to decide. Whether to step aside or step on and cling to the speeding police van taking the 1993 Mumbai blasts-accused Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt from a court in Mumbai to the jail in Pune, through crowds of fans, onlookers and hordes of media persons trying to get at least one usable frame or a clip. With photographers clinging onto each side of the van, like a pack of wild cats attacking an elephant, the rickety vehicle takes a violent turn and accelerates at the maximum speed it can, as if to get rid of its sticky predators. Its a tough call, whether to do what comes naturally to a news photographer or follow the diktat of “safety first”. 

After several days of chasing and shooting Dutt, through wild hysteric crowds (shooting most of the frames blind and with one hand); after braving policemen who seemed as ferocious as any ruthless defender in the British Premier League, (of course Beckham never had to worry about a baton in the hands of any defender), and after hours and hours of waiting everyday and dogging the Indian movie star till wherever and whenever possible - Punit (my colleague) and I had to draw a line in this increasingly paparazzi style of coverage. This far having been influenced by the frenzy of our other media counterparts, we had to regroup our thinking and put this coverage in perspective.  We had to start approaching it as another news coverage sans the paparazzi-style celebrity chasing. Safety had to be our first norm, which I conveyed to Punit. 

And with Dutt’s police van seemingly aiming to break all acceleration records, it was miraculous that no photographer got seriously injured. Many photographers did not even get a proper foothold on the speeding van and were clinging on for dear life, evading other passing vehicles.  And all this for a movie actor, who had been shot from all angles the previous day!

As for us, I was glad neither of us tried to test our cowboy skills.  Punit was all prepared to ride pillion on a friend’s bike and catch up with the van at the next few traffic intersections - which he did and got the pictures.  It was a tough call as we had to restrain our photographer’s instincts and put on the thinking cap!  Chasing a police van was not the most desirable method, but in these circumstances it was the safest and perhaps our only choice.

This was repeated yet again - only this time, instead of being handcuffed, two movie stars were tying the knot.

And we photographers felt it real tight around our neck!

So there we were again — waiting from 8 in the morning till, well, early next morning with no food or water, in front of Bollywood icon Amitabh Bhachchan’s house, on the day his son and actor Abhisekh got married to former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.

Standing with a group of other media persons, with no place to turn or change position. In fact, no flexibility to even visit a loo! Just enough space to hold up the camera and wait indefinitely, till the bride or groom-to-be emerged or at least a celebrity guest. And though the bride and groom didn’t show up, whenever a high-profile guest did, they set off some frenzied activity, even fisticuffs between the photographers, television journalists and the policemen.

Despite all the effort, the lack of a good photo-opportunity and dearth of images of the newly-wed couple, this too soon turned out to be a free for all, paparazzi-style coverage.  The wedding coverage soon deteriorated into a car chase at 3 am in pitch darkness !

And that’s were we drew our line and opted out - out of this midnight paparazzo drama !

Well, the drama continued the next day too. And during a baton charge by security personnel, several photojournalists got injured and one of them hospitalized with serious injuries received from the butt of a rifle.

2008 saw the final metamorphosis of this new genre of photography - new at least to this country. Chasing music world’s very own “Material girl” during her visit to the old quarters of Mumbai, seemed right out of a Hollywood film. More than a dozen cars and bikes chased the carcade of Madonna , like the tail of a comet,  through crowded streets of Mumbai, leaving pedestrians gaping at this wild and motley convoy that ignored speed limits, one-way streets and traffic lights. Even traffic cops were caught unaware, and before they could make sense, the comet and its tail would have disappeared from their sight in a jiffy.

And everytime Madonna’s car stopped it would send photographers and cameramen into a frenzy - abandoning their vehicles on the roads and rushing towards her car with cameras hanging from their shoulders. It was surprising that no photographer got injured, either as a result of the crush or the baton-wielding policemen.

This time too, most of us had no choice. Either we follow her and get her pictures or not get pictures at all. And irrespective of the organisation we belonged to, considering this news-worthy ,we all followed her,  though with varying degrees of intensity. It made by stomach churn, to see some enthusiastic bikers almost come in the way of Madonna’s speeding carcade.

After following Madonna for more than a couple of hours, I was joined by Punit. Taking his card, I left to file a few early pictures. At the end, it seemed worth it, as we managed to get fronts of several newspapers.

Till a few years ago, paparazzi or its style of coverage were almost alien to India, heard mostly in the context of Princess Diana. But with celebs and entertainment increasingly taking centre stage in newspapers, there seems to be no getting away from it.

Celeb-chasing has become just another day at the office for photojournalists in Mumbai. However, everytime, we are faced with such assignments, it’s a difficult call on how far to go to get those pictures. On our part we try our best to avoiding paparazzi style of coverage.

For, as much as a picture may reveal the emotions or mood of the subject, it certainly does not speak of the jostling or life-threatening situations a photographer gets into to get the frame that tells the story, however simple the story may seem.