Prithvi Shaw to Saif Ali Khan - Celebs who got into a fight with fans & the paparazzi

During a music festival in Mumbai, singer Sonu Nigam was manhandled by fans - all for selfies. As per reports, as Nigam was stepping down from the stage, fans stopped him for a selfie. However, when his aide tried to move the fans, they attacked - leading to both Nigam, and his aide, getting minor injuries. Nigam filed a police complaint. The prime accused is the son of MLA Prakash Phaterpekar. The sister of the prime accused, Suprada Phaterpekar, also took to Twitter to state that they had apologised to Nigam on behalf of the organising team and asked people not to politicise the matter.

On February 15, Shaw was out with a friend for dinner at a hotel in Mumbai when two people approached him for a selfie, which he agreed to. After a few photos, the duo badgered the cricketer for more selfies - which he refused. Consequently, they returned with a group of people, chased the car Shaw was in, and wrecked it with baseballs. It was Shaw’s friend’s car. As per reports, social media influencer Sapna Gill is one of the accused. Meanwhile, Gill’s lawyers maintain that she and her friends were assaulted first.

In 2012, following an IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and the Mumbai Indians (MI) actor Shah Rukh Khan got into an altercation with the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) officials and a security guard at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Khan is one of the owners of KKR. Khan maintained that he was provoked because the guards behaved aggressively with a group of children, including his daughter. However, an FIR was registered against the star for voluntarily causing hurt and intimidation and he was banned from entering the stadium. The 5-year ban was lifted in 2015.

In 2012, actor Saif Ali Khan was booked for assaulting an NRI businessman Iqbal Sharma at Wasabi - a restaurant at the Taj Hotel in Colaba, Mumbai. As per reports, Khan alleged that he was provoked when Sharma passed derogatory comments against Khan’s companions – his wife, then girlfriend, actor Kareena Kapoor and her friend, actor Amrita Arora. Sharma, meanwhile, said that he requested Khan and his companions to talk softly as they were “making a lot of noise” but the group didn’t listen. Khan was arrested by the police and left the station after paying ₹15,000 and getting bail. Later, he apologised for “losing control” but maintained that any individual would’ve reacted the same way.

Salman Khan’s many run-ins with the police and law are no secret. But at one point, he was banned by the paparazzi. In 2014, reports surfaced that Salman Khan’s security personnel were involved in a tussle with the paparazzi where a reporter’s camera broke but Khan did nothing to stop the fight. Reports state that Khan even commented to the paparazzi, “If you want to work, you work or you go”. Consequently, the paparazzi decided to boycott the star till the release of his film, Kick. Khan took to Twitter to comment on the incident stating that photographers would lose work but he would have immense respect for them if they stuck to their stand.

The Bollywood brawls are certainly not restricted to men. Last year, in August 2022, during the promotions for Dobaaraa actor Taapsee Pannu got into a verbal altercation with the paparazzi when she didn’t stop to pose for their photographs. While the paparazzi complained that they’d been waiting for hours for her photos, the actor remarked that they should talk to her respectfully. However, ultimately, she posed for the paparazzi while commenting, “har baar actor hi galat hota hai (the actor is wrong every time)”.

If there’s one celebrity who’s known for always being short with the paparazzi, it has to be the veteran actor and politician Jaya Bachchan. There are multiple stories, videos, and photos of the star rebuking the paparazzi for barging into her personal space. In 2022, when a photographer tumbled while trying to take her photo after the Lakme Fashion Week, Bachchan said "serves you well, I hope you double and fall.”

Shraddha Kapoor was another actor to be boycotted by the paparazzi. Apparently, the paparazzi were miffed at the star because she never posed for photos at airports or other events. Consequently, in 2014, during the success bash for her film Ek Villain, the paparazzi refused to click any photos of the film’s cast till Kapoor was on stage. As per a report by Times of India, the matter was later resolved after Kapoor had a discussion with the photographers’ union.