Don’t Be a Voyeur of Death: Shaheen Bhatt Speaks up for Aishwarya

Shaheen Bhatt lashes out at the media for sharing pictures of a grief-stricken Aishwarya Rai.

Alia Bhatt’s sister Shaheen feels that in the world of entertainment and celebrities, we become so star struck that we lose the ability to see actors for the human beings that they are. She shared an angry post on Instagram defending Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, in what is possibly the saddest moment of her life, the loss of her father. As pictures of a teary Aishwarya flood social media, Shaheen points out the loss of humanity in the midst of all the chatter.

With respect to the photos of a mourning Aishwarya Rai that are all over the internet.

A post shared by Shaheen Bhatt (@shaheenb) on Mar 19, 2017 at 6:06am PDT

Last year Amitabh Bachchan too lashed out at people and the media, who requested for selfies and photographs, at a friend’s funeral.

Shaheen points out-

I have never understood the media showing up to high profile funerals to take pictures of grieving family members. Death is traumatic enough without pictures of you at your most broken, being circulated all over social media. The insensitivity of it all is mind boggling. There need to be some lines drawn in the crazy voyeuristic age we live in. It is not okay to be a voyeur of death. It is not okay to treat a funeral like a party and show up to take pictures of the mourners in their finest white. If you come across pictures like these, please don’t click and contribute. We need to learn how to be human again. 

Shaheen Bhatt

Aishwarya Rai’s father passed away at Lilavati hospital in Mumbai on 18 March. He had been critically unwell.