Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 11, 2020)

With Unlock 2.0, celebrities have finally started to step out, after spending over 100 days in lockdown. Going out for dubbing sessions, work meetings, salon visit or just a run, of late, several celebs — actors Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Huma S Qureshi, Tiger Shroff, Disha Patani, Nimrat Kaur, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, among others — were spotted outdoors and their pictures were shared on popular paparazzi Instagram accounts.

“Things are getting a little better. We have some celebs coming out every day, given that some work has started,” says celebrity photographer Manav Manglani, adding that while most of them are okay getting clicked, “they maintain distance, and some cooperate and pose, too”. Photos of Saif Ali Khan with son Taimur and Kunal Kemmu with daughter Inaya on their shoulders even went viral.

However, not many celebs are stepping out every day. Celebrity photographer Viral Bhayani shares that only a few common faces are spotted frequently. “Abhishek, Disha, Tiger, etc. are some who are coming out for dubbing and other work. The rest are rarely spotted. When at a distance, some agree to take off the mask for a few seconds, like Nushrratt (Bharuccha) and Angad (Bedi) did. I had put the pictures out with a note that these were clicked from a distance with no one around. But, many expressed displeasure so we’ve stopped doing that,” says Bhayani.

When it comes to work, while Manglani and Bhayani say it has gone up from zero during the Coronavirus lockdown to to 15-20%, celebrity photographers Yogen Shah and Varinder Chawla claim it’s still under 10%. Shah affirms that celebs in masks is going to be the new normal. “We’re mostly clicking celebs in action, while they’re walking in or out of studios, cars, clinics, salons, etc. Since these are mostly full-length photos, we’re able to maintain distance, too,” he shares.

However, Bhayani and Chawla add that it’s becoming a challenge for paparazzi as not everyone is ready to be clicked. “Given the sentiment around Sushant (Singh Rajput), many aren’t comfortable getting photographed. They’re not out of that phase,” says Bhayani. Chawla says, “Star kids are rarely stepping out... From 700-800 photos daily, we’ve come down to 50-100,” adding that upon reaching an actor’s birthday celebration recently, “photographers were requested to leave”.

Like everyone, paps are also taking precautions and raring to get back to work, but they admit things won’t be better before the end of this year or 2021. “Most photographers went home; some found other ways to earn,” informs Shah. Pointing out that their expenses haven’t gone down, Bhayani says, “I don’t know for how long we’ll be able to continue like this”.