Veteran paparazzo Ramakant Munde shared inside details of how photographers accessed celebrities before paparazzi culture and social media began.
Recalling an unwritten rule from that era, Munde said they were told not to photograph Dimple Kapadia and Sunny Deol together. Dimple Kapadia and Sunny Deol were rumoured to be in a relationship, though they never acknowledged it publicly.
“Sometimes they would be together on a film set, at an event, or during a function. But they didn’t like getting photographed together. Everyone in the media knew this,” Ramakant Munde told Hindi Rush.
Munde recalled that instructions would come whenever the two were present at the same location.
“There was a message among photographers that if they were together, we shouldn’t take pictures. Usually someone from their team would come and tell us, or there would be a signal indicating that photographs were not wanted,” he said.
In an era before omnipresent paparazzi and social media, there was hardly anything about celebrities that remained hidden from the public.
Talking about the changing media landscape, Munde commented, “There wasn’t that kind of demand. What sold in those days were beautiful photographs — good costumes, jewellery, makeup and glamorous looks. Publishers preferred aesthetically pleasing pictures.”
“Today, people are interested in every aspect of a celebrity’s personal life. But at that time, photographs of who was meeting whom didn’t have the same value,” he added.
Sunny Deol and Dimple Kapadia: Relationship rumours
Back in 2017, a viral video showed Dimple and Sunny holidaying in London; in the clip they were seen holding hands, which sparked chatter on X.
In 2023, Dimple Kapadia watched Gadar in theatres. She hid her long hair under a cap and posed for the paparazzi.
Dimple Kapadia and Sunny Deol co-starred in films such as Manzil Manzil, Arjun, Aag Ka Gola and Narasimha.
Several media reports have claimed that Sunny Deol, despite being married, treated Dimple Kapadia as a wife and was a factor in the actress’ separation from the late actor Rajesh Khanna. However, neither of them ever acknowledged the rumoured romance.
Dimple Kapadia married superstar Rajesh Khanna in 1973, a few months before the release of her debut film Bobby. Their first child, daughter Twinkle Khanna, was born in 1974 and Rinke was born in 1977. The couple separated in 1984 but never divorced.
Sunny Deol is married to Pooja Deol and is the father of two sons — Karan and Rajveer.