TAUGHT TO SCARE YOU: SHRUTI’S TAKE ON TROLLS
Actor Shruti Seth feels that being ‘brave’ online isn’t anything special; in fact, those with privilege must speak up
As far as socio-political issues are concerned, Shruti Seth is not one to hesitate from speaking her mind or be scared of trolls. The actor, who is often called brave and fearless for being outspoken, questions, “How can that be anything that requires bravado?”
“I’ve never understood the point of people saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re so brave, you’re so fearless’. I’m literally speaking my mind... Of course I know the whole concept of online abuse. I’m at the receiving end of it daily. But when you think about it, who created that fear? It has been engineered, orchestrated. It’s a daily job of an entire building of people who are taught to scare you out of a conversation,” says the actor, whom many remember for her Shararat act on television.
When she meets people who point out her “brave” Twitter activities, Shruti brushes it off by saying, “I’m merely stating facts about the world the way I see it; so can you, and so can the next person and we can have conflicting views. The real bravery is to go and take a bullet in your chest. But the reason why it’s suddenly being considered that, is because of the fear psychosis being spread on social media to silence anyone who speaks contrary to the current agenda.”
Shruti adds, “Now that social media is so exposed, it (trolls) doesn’t affect anyone of us anymore. Now it’s like I’m going to say whatever I want.”
And every now and then, when the hate gets too much to handle, how does she deal with it? “I just shut down, I block my accounts so that nobody can talk to me. And whenever I feel like I couldn’t be bothered, I go and write whatever I feel, and these guys can keep going on and on... I get no notifications. I’m in my own happy echo chamber where I can’t hear anybody. It’s like I’m talking with noise cancellation headphones on (laughs),” she explains.
Shruti, who has done films such as Fanaa (2006) and Raajneeti (2010), and recently made a comeback to TV, considers it essential for people who come from a “place of privilege” to speak up.
“The regular person’s life is already so difficult that they don’t have time for big agenda. They don’t have time to think and say, ‘I can sense inequality here. Why is this happening?’ It’s only a person with a certain amount of privilege [who can do it]... I’m far away from these problems, but I recognise the luxury I live with, and that’s why I am trying to reduce the inequality in whatever way I can,” she adds.