Actors have a moral responsibility to swat trolls who intimidate in their name

The relationship between Tamil Nadu and cinema has always been complicated and slightly surreal. It’s hard to understand why a mere actor, someone paid to play a role, is worshipped as a demigod. What is lacking in the Tamil male’s psyche that he needs a film star cult to validate his existence? And why is this psyche so fragile that he can’t handle criticism of his hero’s films, especially if it comes from a woman?

The sick extent of the psychosis of such ‘fans’ came through this week when Dhanya Rajendran, editor-in-chief of The News Minute, remarked merely that she had once walked out halfway from a film starring Vijay, a famous Tamil actor. After ominously warning her to wait till 6.00 p.m., Vijay fans started a concerted trolling campaign, calling her the most vicious and abusive names, and even issuing rape threats.

Today, fan clubs have moved from being offline to largely online affairs. And simultaneously, being a fan has moved from simply admiring your hero to aggressively demanding that everybody must like him or face the consequences. Thus, male reviewers who pan a Vijay film also face great flak, but it comes nowhere close to the invective Ms. Rajendran has been subjected to. In her case, the rage stems additionally from the fact of her being a woman and daring to voice her dislike of Vijay’s work.

In this instance, the threat, followed by the concentrated attack, indicates a planned campaign. This means a leader and a well-oiled organisational machine. Vijay might be aware or unaware of its existence, but he still has a moral responsibility to reprove the trolls because the abuse happens in his name.

Online impunity

Fandom in Tamil Nadu is like religious mania and scorns the rule of law. Some trolls even tagged the Chennai police, daring them to act. Where is this impunity derived from? First, from the extreme misogyny inherent in the Tamil film industry. Second, from the exalted status granted to actors and to fandom. When a society treats its actors like gods, then devotees can do no wrong. Abuse or even violence is justified as righteous anger directed against a heretic.

The only way to mitigate such obsessive behaviour is for actors to ask their fans to stop it. If stars are happy to accept the tremendous power invested in them by their fans, they must accept responsibility as well. Invariably, in Tamil Nadu, film stars also harbour political ambitions, and a fan base is a potential voter base. Is this the reason why actors are so reluctant to ask fans to behave?