Extortionist influencers must not be allowed to thrive

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Bollywood's production houses are drawing battle lines against a new adversary, according to a mid-day report. These are social media influencers. Eight months after the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA) urged for an embargo on reviews for the first three days of a movie's release, the Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC) has begun discussions on how to rein in what is known as ‘review bombing'.

Our report said that according to multiple producers, influencers with a large set of followers on YouTube and Instagram demand obnoxious amounts of money in exchange for favourable reviews. The filmmakers, who refuse, find their movies panned on the release day. Shockingly, it is learnt that influencers send ‘rate cards' for positive coverage pre-release. The IFTPC is now in talks with the Producers Guild of India to curb this. The two bodies have scheduled a meeting for later this month to tackle this.

First of all, one can label this as extortion and terrorism; in fact, striking terror into the hearts of producers who refuse to pay. Name and shame the influencers who are resorting to this instead of dismissing it on the pretext that all this comes with the social media territory. This is a huge compromise on integrity, too. If one cannot trust these reviews, readers will certainly not know which platform to trust. This means every opinion will be looked at with a jaundiced eye.

Legal action against influencers who ‘ask' and even producers who ‘acquiesce' should be considered. This is also hugely unequal, as those who can pay these substantial amounts will see their movies get glossy reviews. Those who cannot or will not, will see their good films trashed unfairly. Let us obliterate this evil, and it is for the industry to find the solutions within. A multi-pronged, effective, visionary approach should spell the end to this.