That the photograph is the new autograph is old hat now. Celebs, too, have adapted accordingly. But the average selfie hunt — no matter which celebrity is in it — can go much further in this age of ‘Pics or it didn’t happen’.

Case in point: A brazen attack on cricketer Prithvi Shaw last month by two online ‘influencers’ so incensed by the sportsman refusing repeated requests for selfies that they smashed his car with a baseball bat. Within days, the brutality of the selfie caught up with singer Sonu Nigam when a politician’s son — bent on clicking a picture with the singer at his concert — shoved him and his aides off the stage and left them injured.

Rabid selfie seekers refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer today. A shared frame with a famous star is more than a keepsake— it can spike the likes and comments on their social media page and make them look a lot cooler than they actually might be while celebs are essentially trophies in this scavenger hunt.

This new social currency has led to a robust new sport of selfie-peddling where a certain breed of fan-turned-selfie hustlers is now conning stars into posing with fans and then swindling money out of those fans for the photo-op.

They know which hotel, gym or restaurant to trawl, when to wait outside the airport and how to embed themselves among the paparazzi. “They follow us around and pose like photographers or influencers. When the celebs gradually get familiar with the same face among the photographers, they oblige them with a selfie or sign a sketch that they claim to have made of the star,” says Yogen Shah, one of Bollywood’s first paparazzi photographers who has been watching the menace unfold.

And then, like proud hunters showing off their trophies, they flaunt those selfies and autographed sketches online to boost their social media profile. But that’s not all. These selfie-hustlers also use them as visual evidence to claim access to the inner sanctum of these celebs and offer “help” to fans desperate for a selfie with their favourite stars. For a price, of course. Shah says he has seen selfies being peddled at Rs 10,000 and haggled down to Rs 2,000 for a snap outside a cafe or a gym while the price tag can go up to Rs 30,000 at the airport.

Yusuf Ibrahim, security consultant for several Bollywood celebrities like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar, has also witnessed this micro-trend of monetizing the celebrity selfie. “I’ve seen these gangs lurking around several times, not just in Mumbai but at airports in Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. Some of these touts look like regular youngsters in their 20s and they arrive with a different bunch every time. The moment they spot a celeb they start screaming out, ‘Oh, he or she is your big fan, please take a picture with them!’” says Ibrahim recounting a scuffle that broke out between a selfie-hunter and his hustler following a deal gone wrong.

And for those willing to shell out the dough, “they’ll chase the stars through crowds and barriers, slide their selfie-seeking client into the frame and stars, often caught off-guard, will oblige,” says Shah. Most of them have no formal training in photography or press cards but realize that hawking videos of celebrities with clickbait headlines is just fair game. “Earlier if there were ten of us on the field, today you’ll find at least 40,” says Shah. Most of those 40 are YouTubers with at least two Bollywood gossip channels and running what is almost a parallel tabloid industry.

As for celebrities, they can’t always say no. “It can get misinterpreted as arrogance,” says Ibrahim who now alerts celebs to not pander to such selfie-chasers. In the US, pop star Justin Bieber has declared that he is officially done with taking photos with fans because he feels “like a zoo animal”.

One of the reasons for this is rapid growth in so-called influencers. According to a report on the ‘Creator Economy’ launched last October by Kalaari Capital, a tech-focused venture capital firm, India now has at least 8 crore content creators (influencers, streamers, bloggers, etc) and 1.5 lakh professional content creators (those with over 1 million followers), majority of who earn anywhere between Rs 16,000 and Rs 2 lakh per month, depending on the engagement they drive on their platform.

With such an invasion, it’s not hard to see why the demand for star security has seen an uptick. “Even for casual dinner outings or hospital visits, celebs now want private security to ensure that even the in-house staff don’t record anything. You remember the viral video of Rishi Kapoor in his hospital bed?” points out Deepak Singh, known for shielding the likes of Katrina Kaif, Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit.

It’s also caused security personnel to pivot their tactics. “The mask culture really helped. Sometimes we ask stars to wear a mask with a cap or hoodie especially at the airport. It helps deflect the crowd and Covid,” he deadpans.

Recently, a fan of Aditya Roy Kapur got overwhelmed upon meeting him and tried to kiss the actor. Elsewhere, an emotional fan firmly held on to actor Kartik Aaryan as a security guard tried to pull her away. The internet was also abuzz with reports of a violent altercation between cricketer Prithvi Shaw and a fan. These are just a few of the many incidents that have sparked a debate about celebrities’ privacy being violated by fans who don’t want to miss out on meeting and getting photographed with their favourite stars.

“Celebs are as entitled to privacy as others are. The only problem is that their right to privacy gets violated more often than others,” says Dilip Cherian, image guru. He adds, “We prepare celebrities for ambush questioning. But, physical violation of their space is something that’s new and, sadly, rampant and growing in India.”

For celebrities, the love and validation of their fans is of utmost importance. But, they are caught off guard when things get out of hand. “The actor needs to handle such instances with calmness, but it is equally important for fans to understand boundaries. They (celebs) are public figures, but they are also humans,” says Radhika Nihalani, founder of Think Ink Communications and Think Talkies, whose clients include Kapur and actor Kareena Kapoor Khan.

The craze for selfies and social media has made the situation trickier, feels Shailesh Giri, a media coordinator who handles celebrity events in Delhi.

“People want to show that they are close to an actor, which is why they want a selfie and try to touch or hug a celebrity. That is when things get uncomfortable for the artiste,” says Giri.

Cherian adds that “wannabes and faux influencer-type people” try to fetch likes on social media: “They need to understand that a line has to be drawn.”

However, establishing clear boundaries does not seem plausible to Yusuf Ibrahim, the security consultant for celebrities such as Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Shah Rukh Khan. “It is tricky every time we move out. When it comes to boundaries, there can never be any, because everyone comes with a different mindset and attitude. We can’t set a boundary for anyone, nor will they be comfortable with it. They will act as soon as they get a chance to do so. All we can do is be extra vigilant and not let fans get a little too close to an actor,” he says.

An industry insider opines that security plans need to be chalked out on the basis of the situation. “For instance, 10-15 bodyguards are deployed for a Kartik Aaryan press conference. For an outing in the mall, there should be more bodyguards. In fact, we need more female bouncers so that things can be handled when female fans cross their boundaries,” the insider adds.