Paparazzi Fear-Chetan Hansraj

Sneaking into the private lives of celebrities is de riguer in the western countries. Exposing Bollywood secrets is gaining momentum here and paparazzi journalism seems to have found its illegitimate place. Filming celebs in compromising and awkward positions. The competition of 24/7 news channels keeps them hounding the stars and sometimes even look-alikes are used to circulate and tarnish the image of established stars like the case of Mallika Sherawat and Riya Sen. Recently, Smriti Irani's miscarriage was used as a full blown article while it's a highly personal issue.

Hidden or candid cameras and mobile phone cameras have become the bane of celebrities and boon of the wannabes who stand to benefit by this culture. For them it's a passport to the hall of fame and recognition, albeit five-minutes.

Have the publicity-hungry stars brought it upon themselves by letting them be photographed? Gita Hari asks some people from tellywood for their opinions.

CHETAN HANSRAJ : It's still not as crazy as abroad, but they are getting there. Sometimes, just to fill up half the page, they go to any length. Print media is still ok but the tv channels are ridiculous. There are cases of some odd journos trying to blow things out of proportion it.