Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts
High Court relief for Sonu Nigam over unauthorized use of his name online
10:15 AM
Swati Deshpande (THE TIMES OF INDIA; July 16, 2025)
Mumbai: Bombay High Court recently granted interim relief to singer and composer Sonu Nigam against the unauthorized use of his name and its alleged commercial exploitation on social media. The HC, on Nigam’s plea to restrain a social media user from passing off as him, limited the relief sought only to restrain the man, a resident of Bihar, from using Sonu Nigam as a display or account name on social media platforms.
The HC said that even a celebrity is entitled to protect his privacy and prevent posts on social media that violate such a right. In an interim order, the HC observed that a person named Sonu Nigam Singh using ‘Sonu Nigam’ as his display name on his social media account is causing misrepresentation, and it amounts to the tort of passing off and is liable to be restrained.
“I am of the view that the unauthorized use and/or commercial exploitation of (Sonu Nigam’s) name by … have not only associated the name and persona with ignoble acts but have also severely damaged (Nigam’s),” Justice Riyaz Chagla said in a July 11 order, made available on Tuesday. Nigam's right to privacy, which includes a right to be let alone, is protected by Article 21 of the Constitution of India, Justice Chagla added.
The singer went off X earlier known as Twitter in 2017.
Sonu Nigam, through Parinam Law, filed an infringement suit under the Intellectual Property Law and sought ex-parte relief (without notice to the defendants) to protect his personality rights—his own name, image, photograph, likeness, and persona—against misrepresentation, misuse of all hues, as well as unauthorized and unlicensed commercial exploitation online, as well as an act of misrepresentation to others, a civil wrong of ‘passing off.’ Nigam said in June 2024 he learnt of a profile created by a person called ‘Sonu Nigam Singh’ from Bihar, on social media using only ‘Sonu Nigam’ and had over 92,000 followers, including prominent national leaders “possibly under the misconception” of it being his account.
Nigam’s suit cites certain posts that were controversial, causing him (Singer Nigam) to receive public backlash. It said the name ‘Sonu Nigam’ has acquired immense goodwill and reputation and is thus entitled to the protection of his distinctive name. Justice Chagla observed the well-settled principle and said, “while every citizen has a right to freedom of speech and expression, …(it) is not an unbridled or unfettered right.”
Blue tick on Twitter should be symbol of authentication, not prestige-Adil Hussain
8:25 AM
Syeda Eba Fatima (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 14, 2022)
Over the last few weeks, the internet has been abuzz with conversations on Twitter chief Elon Musk’s new policies, including the one that warrants a fee for a blue tick. Actor Adil Hussain, who has a follower count of over 75K on the microblogging platform, says that he may choose to decline paying for verification.
“The policy hasn’t been made public yet, so I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do. But, I may decline. I believe that won’t affect my following, because those who already do are aware that this is Adil Hussain’s account. They will continue to follow me,” he says.
The Delhi Crime actor says he doesn’t see a blue tick as a necessity. “There are so many people who do not have blue ticks, but have credible accounts. A blue tick does not really define credibility. Blue tick should not be the symbol of prestige, but of authentication,” he says.
However, he draws attention to how confusion could arise from this pay-for-verification move: “Let’s say there is a second Adil Hussain, who qualifies for a blue tick and pays the fee. Who will be regarded genuine? Will there be a documentation process? Is there going to be a second blue tick to distinguish between actors with the same name? It’s difficult to say much at this time.”
Payal Ghosh quits Twitter, says that, "It made life hell"
8:08 AM
Juhi Chakraborty (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 2, 2021)
Just a couple of months ago, Payal Ghosh was using Twitter to help people in need amid the second Covid-19 wave. But, it seems the toxic streak of social media is back, something which has forced the actor to take a break from the platform.
“I’ve been on and off Twitter in the last month, and I’m in a much happier zone,” she admits, adding, “I just don’t want these negative vibes. It made my life hell.”
Being a part of politics, the 31-year-old feels, is one of the reasons why she is subjected to harsh comments and hate. “I look at myself less as a politician and more as a social worker. But, people always want to create negativity about my political allegiance,” she notes, asserting, “There is a difference of opinion and sometimes, it takes such an ugly turn that it goes out of control. People bring communal and political angles in their comments about me. I felt it was too much.”
Ghosh says that now, she doesn’t want to think about all the trolling that happens. “I don’t care about what’s going on and what’s being said about me. As politicians, we get so much hatred for nothing,” shares the actor, who is the vice-president of the Republican Party of India’s women’s wing.
She goes on to add that with so much “trolling and abusing”, one can’t talk about things they really want to. “Different groups will attack you, you can’t do anything. There is too much of mental pressure. Even if I don’t deactivate my account, I won’t be active for sure. I want a detox,” concludes Ghosh.
UP police notice to Twitter India MD; complaint against Swara Bhasker
8:10 AM
9 Arrested In Gzb Assault On 72-Yr-Old
TNN & AGENCIES (THE TIMES OF INDIA; June 18, 2021)
New Delhi: The Delhi Police has received a complaint against actress Swara Bhaskar, Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari and others in connection with social media posts about an attack on an elderly Muslim man in Ghaziabad on June 5, officials said Thursday.
Police said the complaint was received at Tilak Marg police station. “We have received a complaint against Swara Bhaskar, Manish Maheshwari, MD Twitter, and others at Tilak Marg police station. It is under inquiry,” a senior police officer said.
Further details about the complaint were not immediately available. Meanwhile, following up on the FIR it filed earlier this week, Ghaziabad police on Thursday sent a notice to Maheshwari under Section 166 of the CrPc. The notice directs Maheshwari to appear before the investigating officer of the case at Loni border police station within seven days of receiving the communication.
The notice to Maheshwari says the investigation requires his physical presence at Loni border police station to record his statement. Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Pathak had said the victim, Abdul Samad, a 72-year-old Bulandshahr resident, had not made any allegation of being forced to chant Jai Shri Ram or the chopping up of his beard in his FIR lodged on June 7.
Nine arrests have so far been made in the investigation into the assault, but police are yet to record Samad’s statement, whose claim that he had been targeted in a hate crime has generated the most controversy so far. While police have claimed the main accused in the attack, Pravesh Gujjar, was known to Samad and had a personal grudge against him, Samad has been insisting he didn’t know his assailants. “When Samad visited Ghaziabad from Bulandshahr a few days ago to help us in the probe, he was not in good health due to which his statement could not be recorded,” said Raja. “When his health improves, he will be asked to visit Ghaziabad to record the statement,” said SP (rural) Iraj Raja.
Raja said a medical test had been done following the FIR on June 7. “We followed procedure and got his medical examination done. His injuries were not of a serious nature,” Raja said.
After Pravesh, Kallu and Adil, six more have been arrested in the assault probe.
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‘Attackers not known to me, cops making up stories’
Meerut: Lying on a cot with prayer beads in his hands, the 72-year-old Bulandshahr man who was allegedly assaulted by a group of men in Ghaziabad’s Loni area said that he didn’t know the accused unlike what the police have claimed. He added that he was indeed forced to chant Jai Shree Ram as he was being thrashed, reports Sandeep Rai.
Abdul Samad Saifi told media at his home Bulandshahr’s Anupshahr area on Wednesday night that “four men had kidnapped him, one of them caught his hands while the other put a gun on his head. They then started beating him up”.
Asked if he knew his attackers, Saifi replied, “No I don’t know who they were. No one knows them here. The ‘taveez’ (amulet) theory is also wrong. People can cook up any story.”
Samad’s son, Babboo Saifi said: “The entire police narrative is concocted.”
Twitter terminates Kangana Ranaut’s account
7:44 AM
Anam Ajmal (THE TIMES OF INDIA; May 5, 2021)
New Delhi: Twitter suspended actor Kangana Ranaut’s account permanently on Tuesday for “repeatedly” violating its hate speech policies. The suspension came hours after the actor posted a provocative tweet on the post-election violence in West Bengal. She was followed by over 3 million people on the microblogging platform.
The actor’s suspension caused a furore on social media, with both her supporters and critics tweeting about it. #KanganaRanaut was the top trend in India through the day, garnering over 165k tweets by 8.30pm.
Shortly before her suspension, Ranaut had also posted a short video, stating that she was “distressed” by the violence. She later defended her controversial statements in two Instagram posts.
“We’ve been clear that we will take strong enforcement action on behaviour that has the potential to lead to offline harm. The referenced account has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of Twitter Rules specifically our Hateful Conduct policy and Abusive Behaviour policy. We enforce the Twitter Rules judiciously and impartially for everyone on our service,” a Twitter spokesperson said.
Kangana Ranaut later defended her controversial statements in two Instagram posts.
She shared the same video on Facebook’s photo sharing platform, where she has 7.7 million followers. The actor has posted several controversial statements in the past. Her sister and manager Rangoli Chandel was also suspended from the platform in April 2020 for an inflammatory tweet.
Twitter’s hateful conduct and abusive behaviour policies prohibits users from engaging in “targeted harassment” and also warns against “inciting” others to harm anyone on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, race or religious affiliation, among other things.
Mid-day Exclusive: Karan Oberoi, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube hauled before court for defamation
8:21 AM
While legal action against people for slander on social media is fairly common, the Bombay High Court has now admitted a petition seeking to hold the very platforms responsible
Diwakar Sharma (MID-DAY; December 23, 2020)
A 35-Year-old astrologer filed a civil defamation suit last week in the Bombay High Court against microblogging site Twitter, social media platform Facebook, Yahoo.com/Yahoo India Pvt Ltd and YouTube.com owned by Google, actor Karan Oberoi and multiple media houses. She has claimed damages to the tune of Rs 650 crore from Oberoi, whom she has accused of rape, and 25 others. It is apparently the first time that social media and microblogging sites have been made parties in a defamation suit.
She plans to file a criminal defamation suit next, said her advocate. In May 2019, the astrologer had filed a rape case against Oberoi at Oshiwara police station, following which he was arrested. A month later, the Mumbai police arrested the complainant and her advocate, Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, for allegedly orchestrating an attack on herself in Oshiwara.
The astrologer's current counsel, advocate Mansha Bhatia, told mid-day that 'her client's identity was revealed and her mobile number was disclosed in public platforms'. Bhatia said she sent legal notices to Twitter and Facebook, asking for the derogatory and libelous content against the astrologer to be removed. She said Facebook never responded to the legal notice till date.
"Twitter responded and pulled down some tweets but some defamatory posts are still live," Bhatia told mid-day. "Twitter and Facebook are accessible worldwide. Some of the deleted content is still reflected on Google. Our prayer is to suspend the accounts of the defendants."
'Friends Revealed Identity'
Bhatia claimed that immediately after Oberoi's arrest, his friend termed the rape case as fake on Twitter and criticised the police and the judiciary. She added, "There are various tweets where his female friend tried to influence the investigation by giving out case details including my client's photographs, which were unlawfully clicked in court."
Bhatia further told mid-day that Oberoi's friends also posted defamatory content against her client on Facebook. "The suit has been filed to seek permanent injunction against Oberoi ad others and damages for publishing, circulating and broadcasting defamatory materials including videos, newspaper articles, statement on social media as well as revealing the identity of a rape victim on public domain," the petition said.
"Making irresponsible and derogatory comments on a subjudice matter interferes with the fair administration of justice, influences the pending investigations, judiciary, the witness and the eventual decision of the courts," reads the suit, whose copy is available with mid-day.
"The defendants (including Oberoi) have further criticized the judiciary severely and without any cause or reason which amounts to contempt and attracts criminal liability. Oberoi has further misused his bail to generate public sympathy, conduct a media trial and propagate innocence in the rape case by maligning and defaming the plaintiff," reads the suit.
"The civil defamation suit has been filed to remove all the existing defamatory content including all articles/videos revealing my client's identity, published and circulated on public domain and further to restrain the defendants from publishing such similar defamatory and derogatory content against my client," Bhatia said.
"My client has further claimed damages from the defendants to the tune of Rs 650 crore for loss of reputation, maligning her image, character and dignity, and causing business losses. We are also in the process of filing criminal proceedings seeking registration of FIRs against those involved," she added.
Experts Speak
A social media expert said it is difficult to keep track of defamatory posts. "Portals like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have huge number of postings every hour, so technically it becomes very difficult to keep a track of every such defamatory post and further take it down. There are times where such posts remain live for a long time. This not only leads to severe trauma for the victims, but also there are a lot of scams happening, and such phishy posts never go down even after they are reported. Acts like impersonation and cheating have been on a rise because portals do not act swiftly. They need time to evaluate the libellous contents which have been reported," said Govind Ray, a social media expert.
A cyber and privacy law expert feels making these websites parties to the defamation suit now is of no use. "FB and Twitter are intermediaries as per the IT Act, 2000 and they are protected by safe harbour provision i.e. as per Section 79 of the IT Act, an intermediary cannot be held liable for any third party information made available or hosted by it. So making them parties is of no use. They can be made parties when a court orders them to remove a content and they fail to remove the same," said advocate (Dr.) Prashant Mali, Cyber & Privacy Law Expert.
Are you abusing me for being born to a particular set of parents?-Sonakshi Sinha
9:01 AM
Sonakshi Sinha feels the anger against star kids is misdirected
Monika Rawal Kukreja (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 16, 2020)
Having stayed away from Twitter for almost two months, Sonakshi Sinha’s life “changed for the better” and she doesn’t intend to return to it anytime soon. In an exclusive chat, the actor talks about what made her quit Twitter, the raging nepotism and insider vs outsider debate, attacks on star kids’ films, mental health concerns, and spearheading AbBas, an initiative against social media bullying. Excerpts:
How were the last two months — did you miss the buzz or enjoyed being away from the toxicity?
More than buzz, it was a buzz kill. It has become a playground for negativity. My life is cleaner since I left it, so no complaints. I’ve also put comments off on Instagram.
But is quitting a social media or restricting comments, a long-term solution to deal with trolls?
Social media, for me, has always been a way to connect with my fans. I’ve always put out the things I want to share with the world. But there’s so much of uninvited negativity. I’m really okay without that. However, I feel sad as so many of my fans have been cut off. I’d want to tell young people, who’re impressionable, that your life isn’t just about the validation you get online.
In between, you came up with this anti cyber bullying initiative — #AbBas. What was the trigger?
People have been at home for five months, and there’s frustration and it’s coming out on the internet. That drove me to do this. I believe if something can’t be said to a person’s face — as there’ll be consequences — people need to know there are consequences even if you say it online.
So what should people facing cyber bullying do?
They’re already reporting on the platform, but if harassment is of a level where it’s mentally traumatising, affecting you and your circumstances, you must complain to the police. Culprits can be convicted for three to seven years, which most people don’t even know.
Star kids are being mercilessly trolled on social media, more so after the insiders vs outsiders debate. How fair is that?
Nobody likes to hear abuses about themselves, for what — being actors? For being born to a particular set of parents? Today there are more outsiders than so-called insiders in the film industry. People are being ‘bhadkaoed’, there’s a lot of misdirected anger. Okay, fine, being related to a film family can help in that first meeting or first audition or first film, but what after that? Whether an insider or an outsider, nobody can make or break anyone except the audience.
As someone born into a film family, how do you look at the nepotism debate? Have you ever used your last name to bag a film?
It might be happening (in Bollywood), but it happens everywhere else as well. And I find it so amusing this word ‘nepotism’ was introduced and sensationalized by a person whose sister is managing their work (laughs). Having said that, my father (Shatrughan Sinha) has never picked up the phone and called any producer to say, ‘Take my daughter in your film’. I was offered Dabangg (2010) because yes, my family knew Salman Khan’s family, that’s it. They saw me, thought I’ll fit the role. After that, I had to work very hard and the audience accepted me.
What about films of star kids facing flak, for instance Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, received backlash, and Sadak 2 trailer became the most disliked?
These people are calling out young girls — Ananya Panday, Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor — imagine what they’d be going through. Though they’re strong girls and are keeping their chin up.
Does trolling and bullying get too much to handle at times?
It’s a lot of negativity to be subjected to. It makes so many people turn against you for no fault of yours. It affects people’s mental health, too.
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‘WE ALL WANT JUSTICE FOR SSR’
We all have suffered a very big loss (Sushant Singh Rajput) — the industry, his fans and everyone. So there’s a lot of hurt and that’ll be there until people get some sort of closure and justice for him. Everybody wants it. Just because we’re not being vocal about it, or putting out stories or posts every day, doesn’t mean that we don’t want it. But, till that happens, I think people will, kind of express their hurt and anger. We are all hurt, but we’re also getting abused and all, and it’s not that we don’t care.
TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH, BUT DON’T ATTACK OTHERS
While you’re talking about someone else’s mental health — and we’ve seen what it can drive a person to do — you can’t attack others and subject them to so much pain, hatred and negativity. The whole process gets defeated. There’s a lot of social stigma around mental health, so people are afraid to reach out and go see a therapist. Awareness should be created so people take action.
On social media, people take advantage of anonymity to vent-Richa Chadha
8:18 AM
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; July 28, 2020)
Social media is fun, but it’s also time consuming — this is the thought behind Richa Chadha’s decision to make her Twitter account private. “I realised that I spent nine hours in a week on the platform. I have several things to complete, and I can’t meet any deadlines with this waste of life on social media. I haven’t vacated my space, but just made the account private to limit engagement, because I have to finish a book I started writing,” says the actor, 36.
A lot has been spoken about toxicity on social media affecting one’s mental well being. Of late, a number of Bollywood celebs, including actors Sonakshi Sinha, Aayush Sharma and Saqib Saleem, quit Twitter due to negativity on the platform. Undoubtedly, incessant trolling, threats, etc takes a toll. Chadha, however, does not take social media too seriously, and says it’s a “medley and battle of bits, bytes and bots based on algorithms and can’t replace human interaction”.
“The platform is toxic because the world has become toxic. People take advantage of anonymity to find relevance and vent. This is the behaviour of cowards and must not be taken seriously,” she asserts.
There is, indeed, negativity on social media, but it has its advantages as well. Chadha is thankful that she isn’t addicted to social media, and admits that she has had her fair share of positive interactions on the platform. “As an artiste, you are pleasantly surprised to find fans in Norway and Turkey, thanks to social media. You may not get to know how loved you are either, if you aren’t online, in certain cases. I love social media, but like everything else in life, it has its demons,” she signs off.
Anushka Sharma encourages Twitterati to share happy moments with #HappyTweets campaign
7:50 AM
Turning online trolling on its head, Anushka Sharma encourages Twitterati to share happy moments with the latest campaign, #HappyTweets
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 4, 2019)
As the section of society that is most subjected to online hate, it is only fitting that celebrities be the front-runners in waging a war against cyber-bullying. Anushka Sharma, with her initiative, #HappyTweets, is aiming to do just that by encouraging netizens to discuss matters that make them smile.
In collaboration with the micro-blogging website, Sharma, under her digital campaign #LoveAndLightProject, has launched an emoji to support her latest initiative. "The digital campaign aims to spread all things good on the internet. From highlighting acts of kindness to spreading happiness, and appreciating and accepting one another by creating an inclusive environment, this project will touch the lives of internet users," promises Sharma, who had posted her first #HappyTweets video earlier in August, where she shared joy-filled and loving tweets from various people on the platform.
Even though social media is a breeding ground for vile reactions, she finds enough scope for the cultivation of positivity on the platform. "Twitter can be used to bring about social change, and generate conversations that impact our thought, and behaviour. The emoji is a call to action for users to bring the world closer."
I can pose in a bikini for a film shoot, but leaking my private pics a breach of privacy-Hansika Motwani
8:29 AM
Suhas Yellapantula (BOMBAY TIMES; January 30, 2019)
After Amy Jackson and Akshara Haasan, Hansika Motwani is the latest actress whose private data has been leaked online by hackers. For the last few days, social media has been abuzz with ‘leaked’ selfies of Hansika clad in lingerie, and stills of her posing on a yatch wearing a bikini. Some of these pictures were shared online from Hansika’s personal microblog. The actress took to Twitter to clarify that her mobile phone and her Twitter account has been hacked. “Phone n Twitter hacked please don’t respond to any random messages. My back end team is working on getting things in control,” she posted. Even as a group of experts are working to restore her Twitter account and taking down her leaked pictures from social media, Hansika spoke to us about her ordeal and why the response by online trolls has come as a brutal shock. Excerpts:When did you discover that your Twitter account and phone were hacked?
I noticed that something was wrong with my phone ever since I went to the United States a few weeks ago. But it came as a huge shock to me when I realised that my private information and pictures have been leaked into the public domain. These pictures were taken four years ago and some of them have been smartly morphed by the hackers. I soon figured that my Twitter account has also been hacked and alerted my technical team to deal with it.
A lot of trolls have slut-shamed you on social media after these pictures were leaked. What was it like to deal with the backlash?
It was extremely disheartening. To deal with the embarrassment of your private pictures being leaked (some of them morphed) into the public domain is bad enough, and then to see such comments was really hurtful. Certain people had the gall to say that since I anyway did bikini shoots in the past, what’s the big deal if such pictures are leaked? Well, it is a big deal. Firstly, some of the pictures are morphed, which means they are not exactly my pictures. And secondly, when I do a bikini shoot for a film or a magazine shoot, I’m doing it out of my own choice. Here, it is being circulated without my consent, so there’s a big difference between the two. What has happened here is a clear violation of my privacy. This is the price I have to pay for being a public figure I suppose. Fortunately, there has also been a wave of support for me from various quarters. My fans and well wishers started the #IStandByHansika to support me and it definitely helped to know that some people stood by me.
What do you have to say to your detractors who believe that this is all just a publicity stunt?
I don’t need to seek attention from anybody. Right through my career, I’ve kept a low profile and that reflects in how I conduct myself on social media as well. That’s just who I am as a person. So if someone sitting in the corner of their room wants to say that I’m doing this for attention, I don’t think that such people even deserve a response. I just feel sorry for them.
Are you planning to take legal action?
As of now, a team of 20 technicians are working to ensure my phone and account is stable and they are trying to find out who did this. As far as the hackers are concerned, I’m sure God will punish them for their deeds.
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Steps you need to take to prevent your account from getting hacked
- Don’t click on links sent to you by unknown, suspicious accounts Do not have your birthday or name or pet’s name as your password, ensure your password is difficult to crack
- Do not share personal details regarding education, address, etc on public profiles
- Don’t accept ‘friend requests’ from strangers
- Delete suspicious mails from your account immediately
- Delete all unwanted Apps from your mobile phone. Some Apps have an algorithm running in the background and can wipe out your data
- Make sure you read privacy settings carefully and follow them
Group of hackers called Turkish Cyber Army hack Nimrat Kaur & Abhishek Bachchan's Twitter accounts
8:02 AM
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 8, 2018)
Twitter saw intense activity yesterday as a group of hackers, by the name of
Turkish Cyber Army, hacked into the accounts of two Bollywood actors,
Abhishek Bachchan and Nimrat Kaur. The same group had earlier hacked veteran Anupam Kher’s Twitter account.Recounting her ordeal, Nimrat told mid-day that she found her account compromised when she opened a direct message (DM) sent to her. “I opened the message and the next thing I know is that the access to my account was gone. This happened on Tuesday night. Through the night, the hackers tried to break into my Gmail and Instagram accounts. I kept getting notifications. I didn’t consider taking up the matter with the cops because Twitter was at work on this.”
After she notified the Twitter Support Centre, she gained access to her account last evening. However, her relief was short-lived as the account was hacked again, in a matter of hours.
Bachchan was a tad more fortunate than Kaur. While the verification tick on his account had vanished and his timeline had several tweets in Turkish as a result of the hacking, the support centre promptly restored his account by evening. In his trademark witty style, Bachchan tweeted, “Yes, yes my account got hacked. Quite chuffed that they thought me interesting enough actually...”( sic).
Vacation with a twist for Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
8:00 AM
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 8, 2018)
It has been a celebratory week overseas for the Bachchan trio — Abhishek, Aishwarya and their daughter, Aaradhya — who arrived in Sydney on February 3.
The actress was expected to receive a special honour as the ‘Baton Bearer’ of the Commonwealth Games from high jumper-model Amy Pejkovic. “Since the event was scheduled months in advance, the couple decided to turn it into a workation for the 44-year-old Ash and a family holiday with Abhishek’s 42nd birthday on February 5. The trio celebrated Bachchan Jr’s birthday with an intimate dinner,” a source close to the family told Mirror.
A day after the Games event, Abhi and Ash also attended a gala dinner at the Royal Opera House which had dignitaries from various European countries on its guest list.
Later on, while the family binged on pizza and mocha at a cafĂ©, a string of tweets in Turkish and English were posted from Abhishek’s Twitter account and his handle name changed to ‘JuniorBachchana’. “Yes, my account got hacked. Quite chuffed that they thought me interesting enough actually,” he joked, adding, “All sorted out now and back to normal. Well, as normal as it can get.” Turns out the actor’s account was hacked into by the same group that had got into the accounts of several other celebrity users, including Anupam Kher.
After an eventful downtime Down Under and in the virtual world, the Bachchans returned to Mumbai on Wednesday.
It’s a personal reflection of me-Katrina Kaif on crossing 7 million followers on Instagram
9:42 PM
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; February 5, 2018)
In a bid to connect with their fans and give them a peek into their lives, most Bollywood stars are now present on social media — whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat. Katrina Kaif took her time before she decided to join the bandwagon.
While her contemporaries have been active on Instagram for two-three years, Katrina joined the social media platform in April 2017. Since then, she has been offering her fans a glimpse of her daily activities, including the fun moments that she spends with her friends and family as well as her time on the sets. The reticent Kat is pretty candid when it comes to her social media posts. Her uploads range from quirky to relevant and even a few no-make-up shots. It seems her unique touch has paid off as she has crossed the seven-million mark in nine months.
Katrina says, “It took me a while to join Instagram. I was told that I would enjoy the interactions, and that’s exactly what has happened. I’m having fun. I’m sharing real moments with my followers. I enjoy having a platform where I’ve my own voice. It is a personal reflection of me.”
Though she is now on Instagram and Facebook, she has kept away from other popular apps like Snapchat and Twitter. In a previous interview, Kat had said. “Snapchat is something I doubt very much I’ll be part of. But Twitter is on my plan. It is something I would like to do. I will get a grasp of these platforms first and check if the progression to Twitter is something I am ready for.” But looking at the encouraging response her two social media handles have got, it won’t be surprising to see her collect more followers on other platforms as well.
Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone emerge as most talked about celebs on Twitter
8:06 AM
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 25, 2017)
The elated actor says, “It feels great that people are talking good things about me. Twitter is a fun place if you don’t take it seriously, and I kept that in mind. I was myself on the platform. Thanks to my activities on Twitter, people could relate to me. I am always open to constructive criticism, and don’t give a damn about those who spread negativity. I even got an e-challan from the Mumbai police [for posting a picture on social media of a selfie with a fan mid-traffic]. We launched the songs and special sneak peeks of Judwaa 2 and Badrinath Ki Dulhania for my fans on Twitter, and I’m thankful that the films had a massive reach on social media.”
Shah Rukh Khan, like last year, has topped Twitter’s most talked about celebrity list. He is followed by Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Among the ladies, Deepika Padukone has topped the list, replacing last year’s winner Priyanka Chopra. The Piku actor is followed by Anushka Sharma, Chopra and Alia Bhatt. Sharma, who tied the knot with cricketer Virat Kolhi earlier this month, announced her marriage on Twitter. Her post has been lauded as the Golden Tweet Of The Year, as it got the maximum number of retweets.
Among the top moments of the year, Baahubali 2 and Tamil film Mersal created maximum buzz. With one million tweets in a day, Mersal topped Twitter’s conversation charts.
Exclusive! Varun Dhawan only under-30 male star on Twitter's 'Most Talked About Gen-Next Celebs' list
2:45 PM
In exclusive data shared by Twitter, Varun Dhawan emerges as only under-30 male star to feature on the 'most talked about gen-next celebs' list
MID-DAY (January 3, 2017)
Twenty nine-year-old Varun Dhawan has become the only actor under the age of 30 to feature on Twitter's 'most talked about male celebrities' list. In information, titled 'Year in Bollywood', shared exclusively with hitlist by the social networking platform, Varun ranked third on the list, which was crafted on the basis of the number of conversations on a celebrity's account handle. Varun, who lost to industry biggies including Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, surprisingly outshone actors Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.
The actor's 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania' co-star Alia Bhatt, too, bagged the coveted second spot on the same list that had female celebrities, losing only to the now-global icon Priyanka Chopra. In fact, the young duo topped the charts of the 'most talked about Gen-Next celebrities' with Varun bagging a 36 per cent share of the total conversations around the top five celebrities, and Alia getting 26 per cent. The actor was also the only male to feature on this list, which included Anushka Sharma, Shraddha Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra.
While the gen-next stars gained a strong foothold among the biggies of the industry, veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, with 24.1 million followers, is still the most followed star on Twitter, with the three Khans securing positions after him. Though her international debut, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, is yet to hit screens, Deepika Padukone trumped PeeCee with a whopping one million additional followers, securing 16.9 million to the latter's 15.8 million.
Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Shraddha Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra
Over the past few years, Twitter, along with Facebook, have turned out to be the ideal platform for Bollywood celebrities to interact directly with audiences. It is also increasingly being used to shore up recall value for upcoming films.
Content driven movies, including Abhishek Chaubey's drugs-drama Udta Punjab and Gauri Shinde's Dear Zindagi, which touched on mental health concerns, Salman's wrestling-drama, Sultan and Ajay Devgn's actioner, Shivaay, sparked the most interest of Twitterati to make it to the top five of the 'most talked about films' on the platform. The only rom-com to feature on the list was Karan Johar's Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.
Twitter users' admiration for actor Akshay Kumar's video in support of Indian soldiers following the debate on the ban on Pakistani actors in Bollywood in October made it as the most watched video by a male celebrity on the platform, while Madhuri Dixit Nene's dubsmash video celebrating 14 years of Devdas was the top performing video by a female celebrity. Well, well, she featured alongside Twitter's blue-eyed boy Varun.
Most talked about Gen-Next celebs (under 30)
1. Varun Dhawan
2. Alia Bhatt
3. Anushka Sharma
4. Shraddha Kapoor
5. Parineeti Chopra
Most talked about male celebs
1. Shah Rukh Khan
2. Salman Khan
3. Varun Dhawan
4. Akshay Kumar
5. Amitabh Bachchan
(Hrithik Roshan, Sidharth Malhotra, Karan Johar, Ajay Devgn and Ranveer Singh were also among the top 10 most spoken about male celebrities of 2016)
Akki tops two lists
Akshay's soldier tweet topped two lists - Top Tweets by Bollywood Stars and Top Videos by Male Celebrities. In the first list, Akki also got the third slot for his post in support of the government's anti-terrorism operation (surgical strikes) in Pakistan. Similarly, in the other list too, he was at No.3 for retweeting the video of a police constable rescuing a young woman falling from a train onto the platform.
Priyanka Chopra is first Indian to visit Twitter's New York headquarters
8:12 AM
Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; August 17, 2016)
"My number one rule of doing something is that no else should have done it before," Priyanka Chopra tells hitlist. The actress-producer, who commands a 14.7 million-strong following on Twitter, engaged with fans on August 15 (August 16 in India) via live periscope at the microblogging site’s headquarters in New York. “I started a Twitter account because no one else had,” she chuckled as she went live. Priyanka chatted with Rishi Jaitly, vice president, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Twitter, which was broadcast live.
What makes her visit remarkable is not just that she is the first Indian to visit the NY headquarters but also the fact that the last public figure to be invited was US Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton. In 2010, Priyanka had been invited by Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, to visit their headquarters in San Francisco. At that time, she had the highest number of followers on the social networking site among Bollywood celebrities. Now, it’s Amitabh Bachchan.
Pratiksha Rao, head of media partnerships, Twitter South-East Asia, says Twitter had long planned to invite Priyanka to visit the headquarters given her rising popularity in the US. “We planned it around Independence Day since Priyanka, as an Indian, is doing a lot of good work here in America. She discussed the future of entertainment in India as well as globally. She is not just a Bollywood celeb, but a global icon. Fans from various parts of the world tuned in to the live periscope and asked her questions. Some of her fans in New York were also part of the open interaction. She used the Twitter QnA app for the first time too,” adds Pratiksha over phone from New York.
PC on periscope
>> My first tweet was 1,2,3, testing.
>> When I was young, I’d paint my nails saffron, white and green. I did that in Mary Kom as well because Mary did that for one of her final matches.
>> Whoever I follow on Twitter are people I want to know about as soon as I wake up.
>> Quantico has now moved to New York, so it is really fun. Plus, it is a direct flight back to Mumbai from here, so I can go home, but it’s not something I get to do much.
>> New York and Mumbai has three things in common - noise, spirit and smell.
>> I am a storyteller. I am making regional movies and I also want to make movies here.
>> I was a big buffy fan. I was a ’90s kid.
>> I was a big fan of Baywatch. It was a show much more popular all over the world than just America. Just looking at Dwayne (Johnson) and Zac (Efron) together is funny int itself; now imagine that in slow motion.
>> I play the bitchiest, badass bombshell of a villain in Baywatch.
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