CONTACTLESS FANDOM NOW THE NEW NORMAL?
Iwould refrain from taking autographs of celebrities this year,” says Amar Jeet Singh aka the autograph collector, who has over 5,000 autographs of eminent personalities from various fields, both national and international, in his collection. Singh says quite a few other autograph collectors will follow suit. Well, it seems, along with everything that is changing in the life and times of Covid-19, fandom too is up for a revamp. And, contactless fandom might become the ‘new normal’.
“As responsible citizens, we know the less contact we make, the more we can stop corona from spreading,” Singh adds.
Fan clubs of Bollywood actors are also cautious. Rishabh Gupta of Akshay Kumar’s fan club, Team Akshay on Twitter, shares they will “request fans via social media to maintain social distancing”. Raj Sharma of Salman Khan’s fan club, Planet Salman on Twitter, echoes the thought. “We love Salman Khan and don’t want to create problems for him. If he agrees to click a selfie from a distance then only go for it,” he says.
Actor Sonu Sood, who steps out daily for humanitarian work, says fans understand. “There have been times when I’ve taken selfies but from a distance and only if s/he was wearing a mask. I would miss having my fans around but now we all have to operate differently,” he says.
The fan clubs also mentioned that they are sad that there won’t be any hugs, handshakes or meeting their favourite stars and directors at film festivals too. However, they aren’t complaining, as this time, according to Gupta, too shall pass and those good days of having that personal touch with their favourite stars would soon be back.
Much like fans, bodyguards and managers of actors are also wary. Shree Tele, Kumar’s
We used to travel across the country to collect autographs, but won’t this year. The less contact we make, more we can stop corona. AMAR JEET SINGH AUTOGRAPH COLLECTOR
bodyguard, shares he’d be extra cautious. “No one would be allowed to come near him unless he approves,” he adds.
Meanwhile, K-pop fans in India are opting for online artiste interactions. One such fan, Shubhangi Varma shares, “When a K-pop artist releases an album, there are fansign events which give us a chance to meet them in person. Now they’re organising virtual events and video call interactions with fans. We’re trying to participate in such events too.”