Shatrughan Sinha, a veteran actor, was asked about recent calls to boycott films. He responded by saying that the film industry has fallen victim to social media trolls and that there isn’t much we can do to stop them.
Shatrughan Sinha recently reminisced about his career and film roles in front of an audience during a panel discussion. The veteran actor made his acting debut in the late 1960s and rose to stardom alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna in the 1970s. He entered politics in the 2000s and has acted only infrequently since then. He is still active on social media, where he engages Twitter users in discussions about current events and topics.
The veteran actor began the panel by reciting entire scenes from his early filmography, which he remembered quite well. In Pyar Hi Pyar, Banphool, Raampur Ka Lakshman, Bhai Ho Toh Aisa, Heera, and Blackmail, he first appeared as a villain. His big break as a lead actor came in 1976 with Subhash Ghai’s Kalicharan.
Shatrughan was also asked about the calls to boycott recent big Bollywood films, to which he responded. He believed that it was impossible to prevent people from speaking negatively about a person or their work. He told Aaj Tak, “Today, social media is extremely powerful.
Unfortunately, baaki media rang nahi laa rahi hai (the rest of the media isn’t really bringing it up), especially after Corona. Social media has emerged quite strongly in this empty space that has emerged since Corona. So why not? Everyone has discovered the power of their voice on social media.”
The veteran actor went on to say, “We don’t know who writes what, we can’t stop them, and we can’t do anything about it.
The troll army on social media woh betahyee gayee isliye ke inke khilaf kuch prachar karo (the troll army has been kept specially to write against things). Uska kaiye baar, hum ya humare log, ya humari filmein shikar ho jaate hai (They prey on the film industry and our films all the time).” Shatrughan also stated that he does not believe social media should be banned.
Last year, there were online protests against several big-budget Hindi films, including Laal Singh Chaddha and Pathaan. While Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan became a hit, Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha did not fare as well, despite boycott calls.