Crazy stupid, love...
Letters in blood, either creepy or extremely costly gifts … fans have been known to do some very disturbing things to show their ‘love’ for their favourite film celebrity. PREEJA ARAVIND presents a list of the most preposterous ones
Did you hear about the obsessed Taylor Swift fan in Connecticut, US? The resident of Ansonia, Connecticut, wanted to impress the ‘Shake it off ’ singer so badly, he robbed a bank and then drove nearly 100 miles just to throw the loot money over the fence of Swift’s house in Rhode Island!
Taylor Swift has had her share of crazies this past year. In January, a New Hampshire man—claiming to be Swift’s boyfriend—wanted to buy a gun to ‘protect’ her in Africa. In September, she found herself being stalked by a man who even broke into her New York City apartment. Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock—all have faced a stalker fan at one point or other in their careers.
Swift also had the misfortune to have her name associated with the Nashville Waffle House gunman Travis Reinking who claimed the mega pop star was stalking him. Some sources say Reinking’s delusions—Swift was supposedly hacking his phone and Netflix account—could have led to the shooting that killed four people. Swift is not the only celebrity to have faced such worrisome association. Jodie Foster, whose breakout role as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver, was traumatized when a man obsessed with her Academy Awardwinning portrayal said he attempted assassinations of two separate US Presidents—Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan—to get her attention. While John Hinkley Jr. was caught before he could make an attempt on Carter’s life, he managed to wound President Reagan. Obsessive and disturbing fan behaviour is not new, or exclusive, to Hollywood. In India, Indian gods, ahem, cricketers have the most neurotic fans. Bollywood actors comes a close second. Early this month, a 15-year-old girl from Bhopal ran away from home to meet her favourite actor, Salman Khan. She was caught by the security personnel when she tried to climb into the actor’s Bandra West house.
I bequeath thee… my all
Actors get jail term and fans get really upset. When Sanjay Dutt was jailed under TADA, his fan, Sandeep Bacche refused to wear footwear till the actor was released. Last month, another incredulous thing happened to Dutt—a fan willed all her earthly possessions to the actor! Dutt, of course, wrote to the bank concerned to ensure the property goes to the departed fan’s family.
Finding long lost son
Family drama is the easiest way to garner attention. Our from-theSouth ‘Kolaveri di’ sensation, Dhanush was summoned to court by an ageing couple who claimed the actor was their son! Last year November, Kathiresan and Meenakshi from Melur in Tamil Nadu, claimed that Dhanush ran away from home when he was in Class XI, had his birthmarks surgically removed, and wanted the actor to pay them monthly maintenance of Rs 65,000.
(Almost) caught on tape
In the age of selfies and ‘caught on camera’ the world barely missed the chance to see actor Ranveer Singh in the buff. The actor, who personifies ‘crazy’ with his antics, claimed he got a taste of the weird when he found out a ‘fan’ filming him taking a shower. And yes, Singh was definitely in the nude. The fan was caught in time and the video was deleted.
True blood = true love
What is some claims of blood ties when you can someone’s blood in your hand? That is what happened to Aashiqui 2 actor, Aditya Roy Kapoor who received a love letter by a female fan—written to him in her own blood. The girl, reportedly from Alibaug, had sent the letter to the actor on his birthday expressing her wish to marry him.