Why some Twitter trolls are celebrating Om Puri's death

You know social media has sunk to abysmal depths when certain Twitterati celebrate the death of a veteran actor. This time it was Om Puri, one of the best and most loved actors of Indian cinema, who died after a heart attack on January 6. He was one of the most known faces of Bollywood and lent immeasurable depth and dignity to Indian cinema.

The Padma Shri recipient was repeatedly termed "scum" and a "Pakistani dog" on Twitter.

Ultranationalist trolls called him anti-national, saying he deserved to die and had no right to live in India. The iconic figure of Indian cinema - one of the pillars of the parallel movement - was humiliated even in death.

@CNNnews18 drunk always

— MAHENDRA JAIN (@mahendra3) January 6, 2017

one antinationalist has died, bye bye OM Puri

— ravi goyal (@RaviGoyall) January 6, 2017

In fact, there were several such tweets.

The alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and the National School of Drama (NSD) and the critically acclaimed actor, known for his performances in movies such as Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Ardh Satya, and Mirch Masala, was always fearless in expressing his opinions and never cared for being pro-establishment.

He had to pay the price for his comments on the beef ban, Pakistani actors working in India and Indian soldiers.

Puri had defended Pakistani actors in India saying that "they had come to India with a valid visa", and termed the beef ban hypocritical given India's large exports of the meat. He was one of the few alternative and rational voices left in Bollywood. When others preferred to toe the line, it was he who always stuck his neck out for his beliefs, not caring for the consequences.

He spoke his mind and boldly faced those who targeted him. In fact, Puri had been battling jingoist trolls in the last few months of his life, having been subjected to vitriolic comments on the Internet by ultranationalist trolls; the same people he had entertained through his performances.

Most of the Bollywood fraternity who came out in droves to offer condolences didn't have the gumption to stand up to the trolls, except for Swara Bhaskar:

The sheer filth tht parades as #patriotism these days. #OmPuri did more 4 #India as an artist than u faeces in human form will ever manage.. pic.twitter.com/Z1G5lT1X8Z

— Swara Bhaskar (@ReallySwara) January 6, 2017

She did not stop at that; she also responded to the trolls in her usual biting and candid manner, tweeting:

Witness the #scum masquerading as #deshbhakt who have neither decency nor humanity.. #OmPuri This man made #India more proud than any of u! pic.twitter.com/VBvnKc79xM

— Swara Bhaskar (@ReallySwara) January 6, 2017

For the past two-and-a half years, journalists, the Gandhis, Opposition leaders, Bollywood actors and celebrities have often found themselves at the receiving end of trolls for anything that doesn't go down well with the establishment of the day.

In her book, I Am A Troll, journalist Swati Chaturvedi has revealed the murky business of social media manoeuvring, by publishing the confessions by a former "troll".

The book claims Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan was targeted for his "intolerance" comment of November 2015. She suggests that it is all part of a vicious and coordinated attack.

The internet that was thought to be the liberating and educating force of the 21st century has gone on to become a weapon of choice for intrepid abusers, who know that the state is not going to take any action. Anybody who is even slightly critical of the government or has a different opinion receives a scathing response.

It is time the government of the day reigned in such loose cannons.