My detailed take on actors facing an unprecedented level of hate campaigns,both paid trolling and rage-bait tactics designed to go viral.

Over the past few years, we have seen actors being mercilessly targeted on social media. In the last two years, this has reached a level that is not only dangerous for the actors and the film industry, but also deeply harmful to Indian society as a whole.

There are multiple reasons behind this trolling and hate culture. I will try to explain a few of them point by point:

1) The urge to go viral and gain popularity

These days, content that mocks or ridicules actors goes viral very easily. On X, Youtube,Facebook, and Instagram Reels, trolling content fetches massive views. You must have noticed that once one person starts targeting a particular actor, many others jump on the bandwagon and begin creating similar content - simply to gain lakhs of views and new followers.

Actors like Arjun Kapoor and Tiger Shroff have been mercilessly trolled continuously for the last one to two years on X, by YouTubers & Instagram Reelers . Their comment sections, their personal lives,every possible boundary has been crossed in the name of “jokes.” The latest targets of this trend are Kartik Aaryan and Varun Dhawan. Unemployed trolls leave no stone unturned when it comes to destroying an actor’s mental health.

2) Extortion and the demand for money

We all know that to build a certain perception in the media, influencers are paid by marketing teams and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. However, now everyone wants money: influencers, non-influencers, and trolls alike. When they are not paid, they start spreading a different level of hatred against films and actors, with the intention of exhausting actors and filmmakers until they eventually give in and pay them.

Everyone has the right to offer constructive criticism of films and performances. But the way filmmakers and actors are being humiliated in the name of criticism and trolling, and the way attempts are being made to destroy their mental health and personal lives, is, in my view, a crime.

After Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, many people cried and said that he had been treated unfairly. Ironically, today the same Indian society is doing similar things to other actors-just to become famous and make money.

3) Competition between actors and filmmakers

Another reason is internal competition within the industry. These days, actors have become insecure, and some even run troll campaigns against other actors and films through their own agencies. People within the industry will agree with me on this, because we are all aware of this reality.

But now these campaigns and methods have started crossing all limits, with Kartik Aaryan becoming a major victim. On Reddit, an unknown person posts a screenshot of a fake chat, and within hours it goes viral on Twitter and Instagram. Industry insiders understand that something like this spreading so quickly is impossible unless it is pushed through an agency. There is a deliberate attempt to destroy Kartik’s character and reputation.

In the past, Hrithik, Ranveer, and Ranbir Kapoor have also been victims of similar campaigns.

Now, people within the industry need to seriously think about what will actually be achieved through all this and how far this will go, no one really knows.

I am not writing this article to defend anyone. I personally know most of these actors, and they are largely sensible and mature individuals. What concerns me is the impact this hate-filled trolling is having on their mental health.

The general public should also reflect on this: the way you are tearing actors apart in the name of trolling,if the same were done to you and against your parents or siblings, how would you feel? Karma spares no one. May better sense prevail among all.