Critic ya troll: Hum aap ke hai kaun?

Itrsquos been a month since Sanjay Leela Bhansalirsquos ambitious OTT debut series Heeramandi dropped on Netflix and the one person who has been discussed the most is his 28yearold niece Sharmin Segal This is her second project after Malaal and the Internet has been picking away at her performance Most reviews say Segalrsquos laboured performance sticks out next to that of seasoned colleagues But the armchair critic on the rsquoGram has also zoomed into the microexpressions of colleagues as an unprepared Segal gives interviewsWhere does so much hate come fromThe industry consensus is that Segal and many young actors become soft targets for the Internet ldquoHate for Sharmin comes from nepotism because she is Mr Bhansalirsquos niecerdquo says Tushar Joshi a film critic with India Today ldquoIn my interview Mr Bhansali spoke about why he cast her Alamzeb was meant to naiumlve and if you watch the show with Sanjayrsquos words in mind you realise that this was their vision for the characterrdquoNikhil Taneja mental health advocate and cofounder of Yuva a Gen Zfocused media company agrees that star kids have it worst ldquoThe root of the vitriol towards Sharmin or Suhana Khan or Khushi Kapoor comes from the fact that people are struggling themselves they naturally dislike those who have easy access This happened with The Archies as wellrdquoSharmin Segal was trolled massively on Instagram for her ldquoobnoxious repliesrdquo during Heeramandi promotions while Babli Khan was accusedof being ldquofake nicerdquoWhile this normalised the conversation around nepotism making it more than a passing discourse itrsquos a fine line into harsh trolling ldquoThe Internet has made being ales coolrdquo says Taneja ldquoPeople need to understand that being unkind to people is not okay To say that someone is a bad actor is understandable but to shame people on how they look behave and talk you are projecting your understanding of the personrdquoSo much so that colleague Richa Chadha had to step in to shield her colleague to say ldquoCriticism has to be constructive If someone doesnrsquot like your work one could say lsquookay the body language isnrsquot believable or The voice tonality isnrsquot okayrsquo When we start operating like that we help the actor grow Actors bhi insaan hai mental health sabka kharab hota hairdquoAn image consultant adds ldquoThe Internet and social media have simply allowed people to say things without being held accountable We come from the culture of wanting to pull down the nextrdquoTushar Joshi Nikhil Taneja Raja Sena Arindam Thapliyal Abhishek ThukralAnd it doesnrsquot help the professional says caustically that ldquoGen Z stars want to be everyone except themselves They invite hate by being inauthentic If you are being hypocritical you canrsquot cry about itrdquo They say it may be their job to protect the clientrsquos image but thatrsquos hard when they donrsquot have the personality they try to project ldquoA lot of it is their own doing the image consultant said ldquoTheyrsquore like lsquoOh I wanna have Kareenarsquos sassy personality on the Internetrsquo You canrsquot become someone else if you are not naturally thatrdquoRecently a clip went viral in which Babil Khan actor Irrfan Khanrsquos son is seen apologising to a woman after he unknowingly bombed her red carpet pictures One user wrote ldquoHe makes Vanga look better as I can at least see straight forward toxicityrdquo Another said ldquoTherersquos something so spectacularly insidious about a man who makes a whole performance out of being nice Like who even are u when ur not performingrdquoHere a digital content creator says freedom of expression is rebellion against the careful curating of personalities ldquoComedy is not bullying it is a commentaryrdquo she says ldquoMy Babil Khan video did well because people are recognising that his PR has a tendency of projecting him as a little saintly boy He is already a kind sweet wonderful person cut out the extra drama of buying memes saying lsquoOh such a green flagrsquordquo She sees her role to be in line with the pressrsquos Cutting stars and their perceptions to size ldquoBe yourself be authentic Let us decide if you are a green flagrdquo she saysHowever Taneja who shot with Babil last year says ldquoHe is a visibly anxious person He has been very open about his grief his mental health losing his father so unexpectedly his living parent Being vulnerable has made him a soft target His every move is analysed he has to live up to the pressure of carrying forward the legacy of one of the worldrsquos greatest actors People need to stop and analyse whether they are punching up or punching down rdquoAbhishek Thukral of the boutique PR Agency Hardly Anonymous Communications says the hate for Segal is a case study on things going too far And that itrsquos the publicistrsquos responsibility to coach a fresh actor on media perception and check things when they go too farldquoNo actor is great in every projectrdquo he says ldquoAnd thatrsquos okay But when an actor is going for promotions of a big show or movie they must be prepared better There is a reason experts are hired to give sound advice to talentsrdquo He adds that young actors have to be trained in facing the press with mock drills to help them field questions better ldquoYou canrsquot go into a Heeramandi underpreparedrdquo Thukral saysAnd in the case of someone who is being launched into the industry a publicistrsquos role is to condition the audience to the new person With star kids itrsquos made to look organic with a slow trickle of snapshots from their personal life with the more recognised or influential parent ldquoThe world should be familiarised with the person before the launchrdquo says Thukral ldquoWho are they What do they likerdquoWhere do film critics come in all this In the era of social media are they mindful of how far their words could travel Are they aware harsh ones could set off a tsunami of hateldquoA reviewerrsquos job to take a movie or a show recommend or fault itrdquo Raja Sen film critic says ldquoIt is your informed opinion You must present your perspective such that people have a solid idea as to why I like a certain showrdquoThe criticfilmmaker dynamic is professional he says and crucial for better storytelling They serve as gatekeepers of entertainment and the craft ldquoSometimes people in the movies think of criticism as a personal attackrdquo says Sen ldquoNo it is not we donrsquot know these people personally and we are reacting to the work not the people As critics however the review should lucidly explain what we are finding revolting so that the reader can make up their own mindrdquoWhen the criticaudiencefilmmaker is bound by this authentic service everyone benefits ldquoRam Gopal Varma once told me that bad reviews are the only ones worth readingrdquo continues Sen ldquoI am not telling a filmmaker where to start a scene I am saying the movie was a traumatic experience for me That should make them pause and ask whyrdquoJoshi agrees somewhat ldquoReviews are feedback for course correction I wonrsquot write the person off I wonrsquot use harsh words wonrsquot slam beyond redemption If a performance is abysmal we need to ask lsquoWhat isnrsquot workingrsquordquoHe agrees that the conversation is about the craft not the person ldquoYou ask if the actor getting better with their films says Joshi ldquoItrsquos a conversation about Janhvi Kapoor right now that her performances are of similar nature I understand that the actor put themselves out there so they have to be open to critique But attacks canrsquot be of a personal naturerdquoIn a time when perception can be shaped through influencers Sen believes the role of the critic is even more important ldquoWhen I look at criticism today I see a lot of soft pedalling and pacifying in reviews There are many agendas many campsrdquo he says ldquoSo the role of a reviewer is even more crucial now A critic canrsquot be wishy washy In order to stay relevant they need to be honestrdquoIn many ways Reels and other reactions on the Internet are the ldquoauthenticrdquo response to this micromanagement of perception ldquoThrough Reelsrdquo opines Sen ldquopeople are representing some authentic experience It may not be cool but they are true to their experience The problem is that they are unfiltered but they too are a work of passionrdquoAnd once they are out there algorithms take over and everyone jumps on the trend to be seen ldquoWe mirror the audiencersquos moodrdquo says content creator Arindam Thapliyal ldquoOur content only reflects what the public feels Content creators are putting up videos only to stay relevant They arenrsquot trying to attack any starrdquoHe says itrsquos the public moodthat colours the conversation ldquoIt makes a plain comedy video seem like an attack The videos if you notice say nothing it is the comments that are hatefulrdquoHate is best managed early and the publicist we spoke to earlier believes Segalrsquos image spiralled out of hand ldquoNarratives can be controlled by buying media narratives social media memes The process of any damage control is different If my client has said something elitist ignorant I would suggest acknowledging apologising and moving on If itrsquos political I suggest not meddling If a newcomer is getting hate you have to counter with positive narrativesrdquoIndividual responsibility unheard of on the web will need to be practised soon ldquoThe Internet is our second home and to keep it clean hate free and nontoxic is as much our responsibilityrdquo says Taneja ldquoIt is not long before we all start being shaped by this haterdquoThough some would say we already have