Confessions of a Beaten Up Photo-Journalist

“A reporter can write a story standing at a comforta­ble distance. But the photographer has to be at the spot”

Photographers, more than reporters, are likely to get beaten up while on a story. A reporter can write a story standing at a comfortable distance. But the photographer has to be at the spot. Many of us carry bullet-proof vests, flak jackets and riot proof helmets on the job.

I’ve had my share of run-ins, but the recent fiasco at Ranthambore National Park, where celebrity couple Katie Perry-Russell Brand wed, has to be my worst experience. Only hours be­fore the commotion happened, my boss had called to warn me that the bodyguards had a record of roughing up journalists. We had been wait­ing three hours at the national park, hoping to get shots of the couple on safari. When we final­ly spotted Brand driving, we started shooting. Suddenly, his three Brit bodyguards and one Indian guide blocked our vehicle.

One of them punched our driver. He took our keys and when I ran af­ter him to get them back, I got punched in the eye and my spectacles broke. Then, the other photographers joined in and all of us got thrashed. One of them was left with a gash that could have only come from a piece of metal. Some of our equipment was also damaged.

The first time that I got beaten up was during my first year in journalism. The reporter and I were on the Samjhauta Express returning from Pakistan. The story was about corruption on the border. I had taken pictures of police officers taking money. There was a plainclothes policeman on the train who informed the authorities about us. We were asked to get off the train, and when I asked the of­ficer to show us his ID, I got hit in the face.

Then, of course, there was an incident when Abhishek Bachchan was shooting in Delhi for Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai. One of the crew members had a problem with my photos of her controlling the crowd with a lathi. A guy on the set walked up to me and punched me in the stomach and face. The police came to my rescue that day.

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