Alia Bhatt, Sara Ali Khan, Kartik Aaryan, Ajay Devgn and more saw a massive drop in social media following in the last few days. Saluting Indian army and hailing 'Operation Sindoor' has left a huge drop in the social media following of several Bollywood A – listers. Ever since 'Operation Sindoor' where the Indian army struck nine terrorist bases in Pakistan to eliminate terrorists, many of our B-town celebs hailed the Indian army for its courage and expressed gratitude.
Losing followers
From Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Kartik Aaryan, Karan Johar to Ajay Devgn, Sara Ali Khan and many more celebs saw a decrease in their social media fan following. As per a report in Mid-day, it is the South Asian diaspora that has stopped following these celebs post 'Operation Sindoor'. The report suggests that Alia and Kartik lost a lakh followers so far.
Why the loss
Sara Ali Khan reportedly lost some 60,000 followers and Janhvi Kapoor dropped her following by 30,000. Ajay Devgn also reportedly lost almost twenty thousand followers on Instagram. "Last week, top Pakistani artistes' social media accounts were blocked in India. That was seen as a gesture of rising intolerance. After Operation Sindoor, many Bollywood celebrities took a stand, which did not go down well with certain sections of the South Asian diaspora in the US and UK," Mid-day quoted a strategist saying.
How would brands react
"Unfollowing these stars is their way of expressing protest against aggressive tactics, and larger political narratives," the source further added. The website also quoted digital media expert saying that the decrease in followers is a reflection of the shift in people's perception towards these celebrities.
"When a lot of people unfollow at once, it's a clear sign that public opinion is shifting. Brands pay close attention to this because they want to work with celebrities who reflect what their audience believes in," Murtuza Rampurawala told Mid-day.
