There was a time when a troll was simply someone with too much time and a keyboard. Social media has changed that. Today, trolling can generate attention, engagement and, in some cases, money. And female celebrities have emerged as some of the easiest targets.
Katrina Kaif‘s recent experience is a telling example. After becoming a mother, her appearance in public triggered the familiar social media exercise of comparing her current body with older photographs. Comments about her weight followed, along with the inevitable before and after comparisons. The irony was that Katrina had done nothing unusual. She had simply become a mother and stepped out in public.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan faced similar scrutiny after motherhood. Kareena Kapoor Khan has repeatedly been judged for her body and her approach to motherhood. Bipasha Basu has spoken about being trolled over her postpartum weight. Deepika Padukone’s pregnancy was subjected to such intense online scrutiny that some users even questioned whether her baby bump was genuine.
The reasons may differ, but the pattern remains remarkably consistent. An actress changes, somebody comments, someone else amplifies it, a photograph becomes a comparison post, a reel follows and soon the trolling becomes entertainment content in its own right.
That is where the issue becomes bigger than bad behaviour. Social media has created an attention economy in which provocative content can be rewarded simply because it generates reactions. A troll does not necessarily need somebody to pay for the attack. The attention itself can have value.
And women offer an almost endless supply of subjects. Weight, age, clothes, pregnancy, motherhood, marriage, relationships, skin, appearance and even the way they speak can all become material.
A male star grows older and it can be called maturity. A female star grows older and the conversation can become about whether she still looks young. A man gains weight and it can be dismissed as part of life. A woman gains weight after childbirth and suddenly strangers behave as though she has failed some public obligation to remain unchanged.
An actress can be criticised for a performance. A film can be criticised. A public statement can be questioned. But mocking a new mother for her body, inventing medical claims about an actress, or questioning whether a woman’s pregnancy was real is something else altogether.
And there is another layer that the entertainment industry cannot ignore. A recent Indian Express investigation reported allegations from industry insiders about organised paid trolling and reputation campaigns in Bollywood. Those claims relate to specific campaigns and should not be interpreted as proof that every online attack is paid. But they underline that trolling can also be used as a deliberate reputational weapon.
At the same time, there is a second business emerging without anyone necessarily commissioning it. A provocative post attracts comments. The comments generate reach. The controversy creates a reaction. The reaction becomes another story. The story creates another round of engagement.
One post can therefore produce an entire chain of content. That may explain why the troll rarely stops.
Katrina becomes the subject, then someone defends Katrina, then the defence becomes news, then another celebrity reacts, and suddenly a woman’s body has generated an entire entertainment cycle.
South Indian actresses and television celebrities face versions of the same scrutiny. The geography changes, the celebrity changes and the issue changes, but the mechanism remains familiar.
Perhaps the most uncomfortable question is not why actresses are trolled. It is why trolling has become content. And once content becomes currency, women with highly visible public images become the easiest soft targets.
The troll may think he is merely making a joke. Someone else may simply see a headline. Someone else sees engagement. And somewhere in that chain, an actress is paying the price for everybody else’s attention.
Perhaps before mocking an actress for the body she carries after giving birth, the trolls should look closer to home. Did your mother not gain weight after having you? Or was she expected to remain exactly the same woman she was before you were born?
