Beware the paparazzi patrol!

There���s nothing private in a celebrity���s life anymore. As post-modern gossip gets more salacious, celebs are losing sleep over ���zero private moments���!
With an increase in the demand for juicier scoops and the gossip behind gossip, the media mafia isn���t willing to miss any feuds, scoops or sensational stories! For some, post-modern gossip is an art form, worthy of parody.Be it Hritihk-Suzanne-Barbara���s love triangle or Rakhi Sawant and her fianc�� Elesh���s courtship drama ��� the Indian media is getting more aggressive at uncovering a celeb���s private moments.
There���s an itch to discover the untold truth. British tabloid culture doesn���t give its celebrities any space. Reporters strategically trail the star, follow his movements, track his friends and break silence of family for a ���prize���. So, what���s the future of the Indian celebrity���s private space? ���Indian celebs aren���t going to be able to breathe easy. In the future, things will only get tougher as there���ll be no privacy for celebs,��� says Meena Khera, London-based publicist of Jude Law and Sadie Frost, who even organises private parties for Madonna and Kate Moss. She however adds, ���The new generation of celebs know that certain key events in their life are now a commodity ��� marriages, births and I hate to say even death a la Jade Goody. Every part of yourself can be sold to the highest bidder. That���s a trend soon going to be seen in India.���
Paparazzi websites too are making money as they have the highest number of hits, redefining the term celebrity gossip. On Mrpaparazzi.com, even you can upload exclusive celeb pictures and get paid a whopping sum, ���There are so many websites and celeb magazines that there���s a need for the latest pap pictures. Celebrity sells and never more so than now,��� says Khera.
The relentless pursuit of the celebrity���s private life hasn���t yet peaked, but we���re just moving towards a more aggressive phase. ���We���re getting more aggressive,��� says Rav Singh, UK���s most famous showbiz writer, who���s given 52 front-page splashes in eight years in The News of the World. He reported on Britney Spears getting pregnant, Madonna���s troubled marriage with Guy Ritchie and how Victoria Beckham���s son Romeo was battling epilepsy, ���Recently, I was in Mumbai and I saw a celeb being shot by 80 cameramen. It was crazy.
The demand is there, and where there���s demand, there���s money. People will be throwing a lot of money for exclusive pictures. The new celebrity is more friendly. Once you���re a celeb, you���re public. There���s nothing private in your life anymore. So, don���t cry, ���Oh, they���re invading my privacy���. In India, the celeb is feeling the heat as there are so many news channels, news reporters and websites. This is just the beginning, before the onset of a new paparazzi culture that���ll hit India soon, and big money will be involved.���
We���re chronicling a new phase in a celeb���s life. There���s money at stake as celebs go about-town launching books and movies, selling magazines, and making or breaking restaurants. In an increasingly crowded world of gossip, only the most-sensational wins. Richard Johnson, editor of Page Six of New York Post recently confessed to Vanity Fair, ���We certainly got a lot of flak for writing about Paris Hilton. People complained, ���I don���t know why you���re writing about this girl. She���s never done anything. All she does is go to parties.��� And I���d say, ���Well, that���s the kind of people we like to write about, as long as she did outrageous things like dancing on tables and not wearing underwear.���
We���ve ushered in another phase of celebrity hell it seems. But is the celeb complaining? ���No,��� claims actor Rakhi Sawant who accepted the challenge of finding a husband on primetime TV, ���My life���s always been an open book. Whatever I am today is because of the media. Even if I had to get married silently, it would���ve been spoken about in all news channels. Whatever I do becomes the headlines the next day. I���m not superstitious at all. For me, there���s nothing private that I can���t share.���
However, Riddhima Kapur Sahani, Ranbir Kapur���s sister feels differently, ���There needs to be some privacy in a celeb���s life. Otherwise, there���s no sanity.���
The truth is ��� showbiz gossip about celebs is for some an art form. Reporters have to get scandalous stories, as the appetite for gossip about a celeb���s private life is on the rise and makes great business sense.
Author Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, whose latest book Lost Flamingoes of Bombay has protagonist Zahira, a beautiful actor, fall prey to showbiz gossip says, ���There���s a difference between an actor, someone who acts for a living; and a star, someone who courts the media for a lifestyle. People who chose to be stars must leave rationale, virginity and privacy at the door. When I wrote about Zaira, the actor in my novel murdered by her stalker, she was the exception to the game of fame. She felt fame had turned her into the idea of herself. Most celebs don���t think this way, carefully negotiating their image, not just the public ones, but most especially the private ones, and manipulate to seduce curiosity.���
Saif Ali Khan���s former girlfriend Rosa Catalano begs to differ, ���I guard my privacy and value it. I���m definitely not ready to let any reporter or camera into my bedroom or kitchen.���
Now, the celebrity serves to provide daily gossip in an increasingly ephemeral culture. ���But for how long?��� asks Dilip Cherian, image guru, ���Aren���t youngsters more self-obsessed? Till when will the bad boys get the limelight?���
But quietly, the rules of gossip game are changing. It���s the new testesterone. Blogger Amit Varma of India Uncut fame believes that paparazzi in India will be getting stronger. ���New technology allows journalists to track celebs like never before. Demand for such gossip is also rising. In a cluttered marketplace, sensationalism provides an edge to news coverage, so there will naturally be more money invested in getting such scoops.���
All isn���t bad news. For it also means that our celebs have a ���global��� flavour and colour in their lives. Saima Saeed, Professor of Culture, Media and Governance at Jamia Millia Islamia says, ���There���s a new flamboyance in the way a celeb���s life is being disclosed to the world. And the celeb is using it to their advantage. Everyone���s there to capture the ���moment of exposure and disclosure���. Somewhere, the celeb is a willing participant.���