For actors and actresses, being surrounded by bodyguards has become the norm in Bollywood. With frenzied fans, the need for crowd control has become imperative
Upala KBR (DNA; September 22, 2015)


It quickly turned into a debate on social media. As a Bollywood writer for the last two decades, I’d like to make the point that unlike politicians who don’t need security inside safe zones like airports, with actors it is a necessity. While mobs don’t jump on the men-in-white for autographs and photographs, it always happens with actors.

Actresses always move around with security, but actors need it just as much. All leading actors — from Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan to Hrithik Roshan — move about with personal security guards. Akshay Kumar, along with his personal guard, also has a gun-toting cop accompanying him wherever he goes.

Fans and threats
It’s not just threats from underworld that make security for stars a necessity. It’s also because fans mob stars. Last year, despite an army of guards around him, Hrithik Roshan was attacked by an over-enthusiastic fan, who jumped on the actor near the exit of a cinema hall in Juhu, Mumbai. Incidents like this have happened with many actors, who now employ bodyguards for their own safety as much as that of fans who might get hurt in the melee.

Says Mandvi Sharma, SRK’s publicist, “All top actors have that one regular bodyguard whom they take everywhere like Shah Rukh has Ravi and Salman has Shera. Security is very essential but the amount of bouncers required, depends on how secure is the place the star is going to. Like when SRK went to Aap Ki Adalat, which was attended by the President and Prime Minister of India, you don’t need that excessive security as the place is already secure. But for city visits and moving in public areas, it’s absolutely necessary to have many bouncers. Fans want to touch stars. The security should know how to handle the crowd in a polite manner as it’s because of these fans that the star exists. Shah Rukh’s standing instructions to his guards is not to misbehave, act in the most polite manner and not touch any woman. We sometimes help out when there are women in the mob. On flights, the security can request fans to not disturb the star between a certain point. Fans want pictures and stars oblige but it’s just about creating limits. On the flight, when he’s sleeping or eating food, he won’t be able to pose for pictures. These are tiny things that the guards look after. Also, on today’s times with social media looming large, it’s best that arguments are handled politely.”

Manic mobs
A few years ago, at an event, the crowd began to pour in even before Ranbir Kapoor arrived at the venue for an event. When he reached, his car was gheraoed by fans, some banging against the vehicle. His driver had a tough time ensuring he didn’t run over fans. The guards at the event managed to smuggle RK into the venue, but the crowd was too enthusiastic and her had to take shelter in the security personnel’s office. After the event, it took him 45 minutes to reach his car.

However, it’s not something that just happens to mega stars. Shakti Kapoor, who was shooting Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 in Kanpur was mobbed by a swarm of fans eagerly waiting to meet the star. The actor stepped outside to meet and greet his fans after completing his shoot, when a man from the crowd robbed him off his earring leaving him with a bruised earlobe.

Says Parag Desai, publicist to a number of A-List stars, “Though most stars have just one personal guard, it’s impossible for stars to travel without any security. Whenever a star is going to a public place, it’s very important for a star to have security for crowd control. With the selfie trend, they try to get closer to the star. Sometimes the star obliges, but sometimes things can get out of control, especially for heroines. So security is very important for crowd control. In India, for public events you need more than one bouncer. We held an event for Akshay in Delhi where the crowd was over 15,000 and we hired 25 bouncers.”

Gimme a break!
These incidents do happen at public places from hotel lobbies to shopping malls and movie theatres to restaurants. Varun Dhawan, who was shooting for Dilwale in Goa also got a taste of crazy fans. He was out for a dinner where he got mobbed by fans who made it difficult for the actor to finish his meal, making him return to the hotel without having his meal.

Says a star manager, “It’s not just about being hurt. Sometimes actors are tired and want to rest in the lounge. Or an actor is not looking his or her best and might not want to be clicked, they don’t like to hurt their fans and having a security guard at such times helps.”

Monika Bhattacharya, YRF General Manager, Head of Talent Publicity says, “It is absolutely imperative for stars to travel with security because the public doesn’t realise that the stars are working within a time frame for like film promotions and brand visits. They won’t be able to do or even walk anything if they get mobbed. While out on personal outings, people don’t carry too much security, but when there’s work security is a must.”

Even courtesy calls!
A few years ago, Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek suffered injuries when they paid a visit to Bal Thackeray at his Bandra home. Says an industrywalla, “They had not taken security with them because they were going to someone’s house. But now they move around with security no matter where they go.”