On November 3, he was at the Ramayana: Part 1 screening with Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor. An hour later, he was face to face with Salman Khan at Ramesh Taurani’s Diwali party. Yes, he bagged invites to the two most anticipated events in Mumbai on the same day. And no, the man in question is not a Khan or Kapoor nepo baby.
The man in focus is Manav Manglani, who unassumingly calls himself an entertainment, fashion and lifestyle photographer. But you, me, and 8.7 million Bollywood enthusiasts who follow him on Instagram know Manglani better as India’s paparazzo extraordinaire.
Over the years, paparazzi culture in the country has bred its own fandom and humour. Stationed outside major events and celebrity homes, phones in hand, these photographers spawned memes galore when they called Nick Jonas “Jijaji” or Zendaya “Jhaandeya”. Even their legitimacy has skyrocketed and solidified over time. From circling Juhu in the hopes of getting a whiff of an event, many paps now receive personal invites from star teams.
Manglani occupies the special position of being a first mover in this space. He was the first to capture Kapoor and Bhatt with their daughter Raha; his Instagram video of this appearance pulled over 2 million views in under 10 minutes. (Yes, whack!) He was also among the first to spot Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif at their premiere outing as a couple back in 2019. Head to Manglani’s Instagram account on any given day and you’d get your fill of Bolly sightings.
There’s a fat chance that you will find the news here even before it hits r/BollyBlindsNGossip. The pap truly has eyes everywhere, and he doesn’t do it alone. “When I started more than 20 years ago, I was among the first,” he tells me over a rushed call. “Today, I have a team of more than 20 photographers and videographers covering events all over.”
This part of the year is Manglani’s busiest and buzziest time. His team has been whizzing from Ganesh Chaturthi and Dussehra to Karvachauth and Diwali events night after night, with little respite. Getting the pap on the phone during the festive season is like trying to get a sighting of Kylie and Timmy before Deuxmoi. It’s only possible when the pop culture gods are smiling on you. It also requires abandoning all self-consciousness and relentlessly sending “Can I call now?” texts until he finally submits and says, “Yes, free for two minutes.”
And giddy to declare, that’s exactly what we did to find out how he does it all. What is Manglani’s strategy to get the best celebrity moments? How does he know when and where the parties are? Which famous face does he wait for every season? All that and more below:
The biggest Diwali parties this season
“This year there are only two—Ramesh Taurani and Manish Malhotra. Most people are avoiding throwing parties because of the recent shooting attempt [on Tiger Shroff]. Even Ekta Kapoor is not having one this time.”
The source that tells him when, where, and who
“Actually, the host’s manager invites us. They share an RSVP list as well so we know which celebs to expect, but again this time people are being tight-lipped, so we’ll see what happens.”
Prep for the best pap shots
“Tonight is Manish Malhotra’s party. I usually assign two of my best photographers and videographers to large events like this. They will reach about one to two hours before the party starts to ensure they get a position in the middle so that they can capture the red carpet properly. Our focus will be on getting 30- to 40-second full-length fashion videos.”
The celebrity fashion looks he’s waiting to cover
“The entire Ambani family—people really like to see what they are wearing. In fact, I tell my team they should get full-length videos so the look is visible; their content tracks very well.”
The celebrity content that does well no matter what they are wearing
“All the couple actors—Ranveer [Singh] and Deepika [Padukone], Vicky [Kaushal] and Katrina [Kaif], Ranbir [Kapoor] and Alia [Bhatt]—perform great. Besides the actual red carpet, we try to capture moments of the celebrities meeting, hugging, and chatting. People love to watch that.”
His role on big nights
“All the guys send me their videos. It’s my job to pick the best angle, edit, and post it on Instagram within 30 seconds of receiving the content. Time is everything. The day before, I attended the Ramayana screening and Ramesh Taurani’s Diwali party and was posting both together.”
How to earn a celebrity’s trust
“Celebs usually like it when we help them. My team has their driver’s contact, so when they are leaving a party we coordinate with the driver. In case he is late we tell them to wait inside. We also inform the celeb which side the car will come from or walk them to the car if they can’t find it. This makes them more comfortable.”
The new crop of celebs and influencers that he loves covering
“I don’t cover content creators. I just don’t. My page is just for Bollywood celebs and fashion designers. I cover content creators only when the brand pays for it. Among the young celebrities, posts with Aryan Khan, Ahaan Panday, Janhvi or Khushi Kapoor do well.”
Three tests that a pap has to pass to join his team
“The priority is knowing boundaries; he can never enter a private building or gated community, and he should greet the celebs nicely. He should be good with the mobile, and his hand should be still. He needs to be really quick to get a good video and send it immediately.”
His most rewarding moment as a pap
“Whenever a video reaches a million or more. I remember when Ranbir and Alia came out with Raha for the first time, we were the first to post it. That broke all the records; the video reached two million in under 10 minutes.”
The celebrity Diwali moment he’ll never forget
“Years ago, after all the rumours, Vicky and Katrina were seen together for the first time at a Diwali party. That’s something I remember clearly; it did very well.”
A parasocial myth he’d like to bust
“In public, celebs actually prefer it when we call them by their real name; they don’t like everyone screaming their nickname outside. My team knows we never give any celebrity our own name.”
