Personal space or fan love? Ushna Shah calls out woman for invading her space

Once you enter the public domain as a celebrity or a public figure, it is expected to be subjected to an outpour of affection from fans. However, actor Ushna Shah has always been very vocal about respect for one's personal space while meeting fans in a public space. Recently, the Parizaad star had a rather uncomfortable moment when interacting with a woman and she is not letting it go quietly.

The 32-year-old actor took to Twitter to share how her day was “ruined” by an unwanted touch and talked about the need for personal space, especially from strangers. Shah wrote, “The aunty at the mall will never know she effectively ruined my day by touching me (my hair, had she touched my face my week would have been ruined). Is the concept of wanting personal space from strangers so foreign that it falls in the realms of badtameezi (misbehaving)? Or is it just me?”

While the comments under the tweet were mostly in support of Shah’s right to her space, some thought it wasn’t a big deal and she should be grateful for the many ways she receives love and blessings from fans.

“Since you're using the word "aunty", one can only assume that she was an elderly lady and it's very common in eastern cultures for elderly people to touch the hair/head of a young one which is commonly referred to as a gesture of love. She was probably just giving you duas [blessings] and well-wishes,” read a comment explaining a common practice in the society.

Another fan believed that the woman probably wanted to see if she was "real or not". Calling it a common fan habit, they wrote, "She just wanted to see if you were real or not. Fans normally don’t believe they are seeing their stars in real life."

A user shared that in their opinion, it's "unfair" of Shah to even call out an incident like this. "The aunty is an ardent fan of yours. She looks up to you. Who knows maybe she even gave duas [blessings] to you in her heart for your success. We all are your fans. We look up to you." 

On the contrary, the Balaa actor received support from fans claiming that while it may be a cultural way of expressing love, it still counts as a breach of personal space.

A user wrote, “You’re 100% right in thinking it’s an encroachment of personal space. I hate people touching my face too.”

Validating Shah's argument, a fan commented, "It's not wrong asking for respect of your personal space politely. People should be made aware of their boundaries if they seem to not realize they've crossed it."

A user even said it depends on “personal interest, values and behaviour.” If the touch made her uncomfortable and an invasion of space, then it is a breach of personal space.

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