Cornered on the spot

The web portal Rediff.com has a feature called Stars We Spotted where readers are encouraged to send in photographs of theirs taken with celebrities. It is a very popular feature and almost all of the senders appear to be surprised at how "down to earth and normal" the celebrities are!

But sometimes the photos indicate that the photographers encroached upon the personal space of these celebrities. The celebrities are in a no-win situation. If they accept, it is expected of them, but if they refuse to be photographed then the "fan" walks away with a sense of outrage at how "haughty" the celebrity is. Case in point: A reader sent in photos taken with Sourav Ganguly. The reader even says:

"He tried to hide his face with hand but by then we recognised him. We requested for a photograph and he kindly obliged. He also said Shukriya [thank-you] at the end. It was really a nice experience."

Check out the photos, though. I feel for Sourav. His expression definitely is not that of a person having a nice experience.

On the flip side, the sportsman featured most often is definitely Leander Paes. Having interacted briefly with him in the same manner a few weeks ago, I can see why there are so many people out there in pictures with him. The comments made by the fan in this particular case, echo the sentiments of most of the folks that send in photos with Paes.

He is gem of a person. He gave autograph to each and every fan who supported him during the match. Very down to earth personality and takes high pride in playing for India (sic).