On Wednesday morning, a video of superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his son AbRam Khan indulging in a game of football at their palatial abode Mannat in Mumbai was splashed all over the internet. The video seemed to be recorded by SRK's neighbour, who seemed to have had an "upper hand" (quite literally), as it was shot from a higher floor from one of the adjacent buildings.
As soon as the video went viral, fans flooded social media with compliments stating how cute it was for the father and son to enjoy a fun game during their free time. But was the recording of the video secretly cute enough? No.
And a lot of netizens felt so too. Several comments under the videos stated how the capturing of the "cute moment" was actually blatant breach of privacy under the garb of love for a star. "Look at the way the video is being recorded. No privacy at all!" a user commented, while another wrote, "Cameraman be like: Privacy ki aisi ki taisi!"
And this is not the first time that an unsolicited camera has been shoved into a celebrity's private space. Recently, actor Karan Wahi called out a "fan" for following his car and clicking his pictures. Actresses Alia Bhatt had once slammed the paparazzi for clicking photos of her chilling inside her house from the roof of another building. Anushka Sharma had lashed out at fans and paps for clicking her daughter Vamika's photos despite requesting not to.
All of these incidents lead to two questions? First — Do we really need to peek straight inside a celeb's house or car without their permission just to prove our craze for them or for the sake of a few likes and validation on social media? And second — Where do we draw the line between fandom and breach of privacy?
Time and again, celebs have also been questioned about this never-ending exposure in public. And a lot of them, including Ananya Panday recently, had stated that they do understand how stardom comes with the cost of putting your life out in the open. But to what extent? There is a thin line between love or adoration and trespassing or harassment, and so-called fans seem to be trying to erase the line very conveniently, all in the name of "fandom".
The best way a fan can show his love to a star is by watching their work and reviewing it, sharing honest opinions and spreading the world. I am sure if a fan does this religiously, a celeb would not want them to further pry inside their private space to drive their point home.
Several celebs in the recent past have demanded strict action by concerned authorities against such cases of privacy breach and trespassing. But until that happens, is it fair for these celebs to constantly shroud themselves behind closed doors and heavy curtains while they just be at their own homes, like every other "commoner" in the country, as they call it?
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