In a recent interview, happening composer Thaman lamented that X (aka Twitter) has become a hotbed of negativity. He remarked that, even before the first show of Ram Charan's Game Changer was screened, someone floated #DisasterGameChanger and it instantly became a social media trend.
Thaman has been taking forever to get over the failure of Game Changer. The fact is that negative trends targeting particular movies featuring big stars are not organic. They are mostly organized by groups that are systematically cultivated and have a direct relationship with the film industry. Revenge-seeking by fan groups is an established practice in southern Indian cinema. These thirsty fan groups are harnessed by industry people themselves.
In recent days, a couple of YouTubers have tried to expose the practice of "comment seeding" for or against movies featuring specific star heroes. Organized campaigns are held against some movies from time to time.
Star heroes focusing exclusively on building their own brand and revving up the popularity of their movies through paid trends is still fine. But toxicity fueled by paid trends is not.
