When Amitabh Bachchan’s Family Faced Media Ban Post Abhishek-Aishwarya Wedding: ‘Paps Lifted Cameras Up’

What was it like for press photographers to ban Amitabh Bachchan, refusing to photograph him at events and sidelining him from any coverage? Bollywood paparazzo Varinder Chawla shared the story of when the press united against the Bachchan family after Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai’s wedding, deciding to boycott them all. Abhishek and Aishwarya got married in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, Prateeksha, in 2007. Despite efforts to keep the media away, the event led to controversy when reporters covering it were allegedly manhandled by security staff close to the Bachchan family.

In an interview with Hindi Rush, Varinder Chawla shared his experience covering Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai’s wedding. He said the family didn’t invite the media, but they were there anyway and he was outside their house. He recalled,”We knew the points from where we could get the pictures, such as the entry area, but they parked a bus there! So, the entire view of the media was blocked. When they were coming to Prateeksha from their other bungalow, they had security provided by Amar Singh. When the media ran after breaking the barricade, to catch the glimpse, they (security) treated them badly and attacked the media. A lot of media persons were hurt.”

The paparazzo mentioned that tensions between the media and the Bachchan family escalated, leading to a major conflict. The media decided not to photograph any Bachchan family members. “I had never seen such a big media ban. They had banned everyone, from Amitabh ji, Jaya ji, Abhishek to Aishwarya,” he said.

“When the Bachchan family would come for some events, photographers would place the camera down or up in the air as a sign of protest. If Bachchan saab was at an event and a call for group picture was made, the moment he would come in front, the photographers would lift their cameras up. They would click the person next to Bachchan saab, but not him.

Chawla said that it went on for a while until he saw it was bad for his image and business. “Then he called for a personal meeting at JW Marriott hotel, where the entire media was called. Only after that, the ban was lifted,” he added.