Viral Bhayani is an Indian photographer and content creator who is well known for his contribution to the field of celebrity spotting. People working in the field of photography as paparazzi had a bad reputation for invading the privacy of famous celebrities and people but Viral Bhayani helped in changing the stigma and gave paparazzi’s the respect they deserve.
Wiki/Biography
Viral Bhayani was born in 1977 (age 43 years; as of 2020) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. After finishing his schooling, Viral took admission to Sathaye College in Mumbai where he earned his bachelor of commerce degree. During his time in college, Viral realized that he wanted to get into the field of journalism and photography, so he began covering the events of college to get started in the field. He is a self-taught photographer and didn’t take any coaching or classes to learn photography. Viral wanted to bring the Bollywood industry on a global scale with his work, and he runs a company with 15 photographers who travel all day long to spot celebrities and click their pictures. These pictures are then bought by media houses and publishing houses for their use.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 10″
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Family & Caste
Viral Bhayani belongs to a Gujarati family.
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information available about his parents.
Wife & Children
Viral Bhayani is married and they have a son.
Career
Viral Bhayani started his career by doing PR for college events at the age of 17. Viral’s coverage of events would end up in the newspapers and these press releases helped him build his portfolio. Viral would visit every newspaper house, from the prominent English dailies to the local newspapers. His goal was to get maximum readership and as a freelancer, he had written about music, entertainment, and society. At the age of 21, he started working for a monthly magazine based in South Africa on Bollywood where he would write and click pictures for the magazine. In 2005, the launch of newspapers like Mumbai Mirror, DNA, and Hindustan Times in Mumbai helped Bhayani and others to focus more on paparazzi work as people loved the raw and honest photos of their favorite celebrities. Viral decided to hire more people and run a team of people who were passionate about photography, irrespective of their background.
Viral Bhayani taking pictures of Kangana Ranaut outside the airport
Facts/Trivia
- Viral Bhayani’s popularity increased in the Indian film industry after he clicked some high-quality photographs of many celebrities. Over the years, celebrities have started noticing his work and often call him to cover the events because of his professional approach and gentleness.
Viral Bhayani with Gauri Khan, Malaika Arora, and Karishma Kapoor
- Viral Bhayani starts his day by sorting out the pictures that are clicked by his team and then he sends them to the publishing and media houses. Viral gets information about the whereabouts of celebrities on his WhatsApp through various sources. Viral then forwards the information to his team and assign them their daily tasks.
- Viral Bhayani is among the top few paparazzi photographers of Bollywood like Manav Manglani, Virendra Chawla, or Yogen Shah. Viral spends lakhs on his staff pay and other expenses every month to stay ahead of his rivals.
- In 2019, Viral launched his official app, The Viral Bhayani App, which has become a one-stop destination for people to get all kinds of latest Bollywood entertainment updates.
Viral Bhayani Official App
- Viral Bhayani was a huge inspiration for many people who entered the field of celebrity spotting. On average, a paparazzo gets paid Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 40,000 per month. This field of work has its own pros and cons like celebrities will start recognizing you and often give gifts to the paparazzi. The cons include long working hours and few to no holidays.
- During the COVID-19 and the mandatory lockdown, Viral had to shift his focus from Bollywood celebrities and start working with other industries like the sports and television industry to keep his content interesting. With the introduction of social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, the demand for paparazzi pictures has declined as celebrities often share about their daily lives on these platforms. Viral has more than 1 million followers on his Instagram account and he has posted more than 30,000 photos on his Instagram.
