We are living in an era of smartphones and social media. It doesn’t take much time now for a common man to click pictures of celebrities on their phone. If the celebrity happens to snap at people or journalists and seems to be in a lovey-dovey mode at that moment, the snaps can go viral in no time. Two decades ago, this wasn’t common. Yet, Shahid Kapoor found himself in an uncomfortable situation in 2004.
Shahid Kapoor had a long and detailed conversation with Mid-Day’s editor Mayank Shekhar. Mayank revealed that in 2004, young teenagers clicked pictures of Shahid Kapoor kissing his then-girlfriend at a Juhu nightclub, Rain. The blurry images were clicked on a digital camera and the youngsters sold it to Mid-Day for Rs. 500. Although the story doesn’t mention who Shahid’s girlfriend was, it is said to be Kareena Kapoor Khan.
When asked how Shahid Kapoor felt when these pictures were out, he admitted, “I was destroyed at the time. I was just 24 years old, a kid. I felt my privacy had been invaded, and I could do nothing to protect it. I was a mess. At that age, especially—because you don’t even know your own feelings. You are figuring out how to be with a girl you are dating. And in the middle of all that, this happens.”
He also said that in today’s times, with almost everyone carrying a smartphone and paparazzi culture on the rise, something of this sort is expected, He added, “At that time, we were caught off guard by it.”
Shahid Kapoor continued, “Also, ab toh meri shaadi ho gayi hai, bacche ho gaye hain. Nobody is interested in those things about me. They have other 24-year-olds to focus on.”
As per an article in The Telegraph in December 2004, a controversy erupted when Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s pictures appeared in Mid-Day. Both had accused the tabloid of doctoring the pictures and insisted that they had never visited the said place for three months. Mid-Day was asked to apologize or face an Rs. 20 crores lawsuit. Mid-Day’s then-editor Meena Baghel, however, said that the image was from a mobile phone video and that it can’t be doctored. As per reports, later on, both celebrities reversed their statements and complained of an invasion of privacy.
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