Media intrusion into Stars' Lives
Amitabh Bachchan
In his heydays, AB's rumoured affair with the ravishing Rekha made headlines and the media were more than happy to feed off this piece of gossip that gave Amitabh many restless nights.
Bachchan seniors' accident on the sets of Coolie drew nation wide attention and was given the status of a national calamity. Bachchan's life was never bereft of media interest.
And in more recent times, the alleged cold war between the biggest stars of Bollywood AB and SRK, and Aishawrya being manglik had the media asking Big B all possible queries that made him uncomfortable and to top it off, media was extra curious to know the wedding guest list for the Abhi-Ash reception that was to be held in Mumbai.
Despite all this Amitabh has always remained courteous with the press which has gained him a certain dignity that other stars never got.
Shah Rukh Khan
The King Khan of Bollywood, SRK has been the only star who has been able to charm most news reporters and scribes with his witty remarks. Even after working in the industry for more than a decade, he still speaks his mind and fearlessly so.
Whether for the fact that Shah Rukh works only in films made by his coterie of friends (Karan Johar, Farah Khan, Aziz Mirza), or that he assumes himself to be No1 in tinsel town, Shah Rukh makes no bones about it.
Yet SRK has had his share of rivalries in the industry as well. Initially there was news of a competition between him and Aamir Khan, the 'perfectionist' and only recently, Amitabh and Shah Rukh were engaged in an alleged face off at an Awards ceremony which carried on to IIFA, London.
But inspite of all the media glare and extra attention that he has to fend, Shah Rukh Khan has admirably taken everything in his stride and come out trumps.
Aishwarya Rai
Being crowned Miss World meant being in front of the flashbulbs all the time. But once Ash set her sights on Bollywood, it was obvious that her every move would be closely followed and critically analysed.
Aishwarya made news for all the wrong choices she made with her films. Then followed her assumed affairs with Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi which had everyone interested.
The media was always by her side, even when she found love and marriage with the hottest and biggest bachelor in tinsel ville, Abhishek Bachchan. Obstacles were 'created' by vested interests who alleged that Ash was manglik. These rumours never died down even after the Abhi-Ash wedding.
But all this while that the tabloids and the press took extra interest in her personal life and career, Aishwarya Rai maintained her dignity just as she has her beauty over the last few years.
Salman Khan
Only recently Salman Khan in an interview had apparently claimed to have used four letter words quite often to express his ire at the media.
The often shirtless star though has given enough reason to create such an impression about himself- what with umpteen controversies and cases against him. The vilent
His alleged link-ups with the hottest starlets and his apparent cold wars with fellow leading actors has been the reason Salman Khan got the tag of a 'Bad Boy'.
His present link-up with Katrina too has attracted speculation that they are allegedly looking to get 'hitched' with each other. But we hope for his sake that Sallu can put all of this behind him and begin on a fresh note.
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena can be given the tag of 'controversy babe' for the number of news items that have appeared about her alleged wars with her rival heroines and her apparent affairs with her co-stars.
Always with a no holds barred attitude has often put Bebo in a spot. Whether it was about her reluctance to work with Abhishek due to 'personal' reasons or for her choice of directors and films.
Due to Kareena's straightforwardness, she was also wrongly quoted by sources as having problems with Stars like Preity and Priyanka. There was even an apparent war purported by selfish interests of Bebo and Rani Mukherjee.
Not to forget the attention her real life love story with beau Shahid Kapur grabbed. And the baseless rumours about the couple getting married. But we have to give it to Kareena for sticking her neck out and ignoring all the unwarranted attention from the media. Keep it going gal…
Aamir Khan
Known to be a 'media recluse', Aamir has allegedly been accused by sources of giving sound bytes and appearing for events and giving interviews galore only on the eve of the release of his films.
But the scribes have always loved to chase a celebrity who plays hard to get and so it has been with Aamir Khan, the 'perfectionist' as well.
After his divorce too, he kept his wedding with Kiran Rao very guarded too. Maybe some stars are just meant to be the way they always are.
Hrithik Roshan
Rakesh Roshan's launch for son Hrithik was perfect in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai but from then on, the blue eyed boy has always had to be wary of the media and their alleged stories.
After his tremendously successful debut, when he had a lull in his career sources apparently had written him off, but Hrithik Roshan made them eat their own words later on. But that did not stop the baseless stories.
When there was noting noteworthy to write about Hrithik's alleged affairs with co-stars, he was said to be having a heated rivalry with another star-son Abhishek Bachchan.
And then there was the much famed kiss in Dhoom 2 that 'Duggu' shared with Abhi's to-be-wife Aishwarya. Hrithik has often admitted to feeling frustrated with pointless stories doing the rounds yet he has maintained a silence.
Priyanka Chopra
Compared to all the stars mentioned here, Priyanka is a relatively new star on the block, yet her personal and professional life has always been under scrutiny.
As soon she was a couple of films old, there were stories of her apparent link-up and scorching affair with Akshay Kumar. She was then allegedly slotted in to the category of stars who believed 'skin show' will take them places.
Apart from link-ups, there were her apparent catty fights with Kareena and Rani Mukherjee that grabbed headlines. In recent times, Harman Baweja has been a bone of contention in Priyanka's life.
Although a lot has been written about Priyanka, she has handled the pressure of the media in a mature and responsible manner, never one to confront and accuse without reason.
Abhishek Bachchan
Being the son of Amitabh Bachchan always meant that Abhishek's life would be forever under the spotlight and the details of his work and love life would be a most interesting topic for news.
There was always speculation about his apparent broken engagement with Karishma and his alleged link-up with Rani, but he ultimately decided to enter matrimonial alliance with Ash which wasn't spared either.
His apparent competitiveness with Hrithik landed him in a spot very often and led to a lot of awkwardness between the two. Abhishek was said to be very guarded about his personal life and never allowed the media to invade the space.
He even wanted his wedding list to be at the least minimum possible and the guest list to be as short. He has always held his silence showing no ire at the media and that is to the credit of Bachchan Jr.
Rani Mukherjee
The Queen of Bollywood never had it easy with journos the moment she stepped in to tinsel town. Once she became a bankable star, she had her share of rumours that were apparently created in the media like the Abhishek Bachchan link-up.
It was even rumoured that both stars were allegedly set to be engaged when everything went haywire and the association turned sour.
Rani later apparently had issues to work with Aishwarya Rai for obvious reasons and the media exaggerated the issue between both the high profile actresses turning the rivalry into an apparent cold war.
And in recent times the alleged affair between Rani and director Aditya Chopra (who is married) has only tarnished the actress' image with allegations of the 'Queen' to be a home breaker. Rani Mukherjee though through all of these rumours has maintained a stoic silence and in turn upheld her dignity.
Vivek Oberoi
Most assume that media's interest in Vivek's personal life began with his association with the Miss World Aishwarya Rai, but one often tends to forget that the actor was in the news much before thanks to his affair with Delhi model, Gurpreet Kaur.
Another reason why the scribes were inquisitive of his professional career was the fact that he was the son of yesteryear actor Suresh Oberoi. Expectations and comparisons were always made between this father-son duo.
Then there was speculation in his love life when he started appearing at social dos with Ash in tow. Rumours were on that both were 'close' to each other. The media then got interested in the alleged war of words that ensued between Vivek and Salman Khan and supposedly created a rift.
Thereafter there was a lull in Vivek Oberoi's film career and a phase where he wasn't doing many movies. Media wasn't that favourable to Vivek is all that we can say.
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