Divya Spandana (Ramya)
Credit: DH Photo
Sandalwood actor Darshan Thoogudeepa was arrested in the murder of Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga last week. Ever since the arrest, social media is flooded with comments, reactions and opinions by celebrities, activists and the fans of the actor among others. Hashtags Darshan and DBoss were also trending for over two days on X (formerly Twitter).
Actor and former politician Divya Spandana (Ramya) who has taken a firm stand through her comments to the media, posted a story on Instagram saying, “No one is above the law. No one should take law into their hands. You don’t go around beating up people and killing them. A simple complaint would suffice whether you believe justice will be served or not.”
Along with hashtags #justiceforRenukaswamy, #Darshan, #Yediyurappa and #PrajwalRevanna, the actor sent out “a word of appreciation and respect for the police officers discharging their duties” in the story. She also added, “I hope they don’t succumb to pressure from political parties and reinstate the faith of the people in law and justice.”
On how she faced incidents of being attacked and trolled on social media, Ramya in the same post wrote, “There’s a block option on social media for a reason. If the trolling persists, you file a complaint. I have filed cases like any law abiding citizen should.”
Actor and activist Chetan Ahimsa wrote on X saying, “Murder accusations against actor Darshan and his accomplices are grave. We trust our state police will do due diligence.”
He also added, “Film stars are undeserving of larger-than-life status they have received for nearly a century. We as a society are responsible for creating such monsters.”
Talking about fan worship, filmmaker Ram Gopal Verma wrote on X, “A star using one die hard fan to kill another die hard fan who was interfering in his personal life is a fit example of the bizarreness of the star worship syndrome. Fans wanting to order how their stars should run their lives is an unavoidable side effect of the same syndrome.”
Darshan fans too received backlash for supporting the star even when he is accused of a grave crime like
murder.
However an X user wrote, “This is the last day one will see me as a fan of DBoss (as the actor is popularly called). The fan boy in me is dead.”
Some emotional fans even posted videos of themselves speaking in support of their favourite actor. One such video shows a person saying, “We are with you DBoss not only in times of happiness but in your difficult moments as well.” He is seen instilling hope in all fans by saying, “Fans needn’t be dismayed. We all know our ‘boss’ would never do anything that would put us in shame. Even if the court’s judgement is not in your favour, god knows the truth, he knows you’re not guilty.”
Addressing the kind of fan culture in the state, filmmaker K M Chaitanya wrote on Facebook, “Be a fan of your parents, teachers, friends and loved ones. They will always be there for you. Don’t be a fan of film stars, politicians, sportspersons, etc. You will probably never meet them in your life. They will probably not even know you exist. But they make their life and their money because of you. They should be your fans. Not you.”
While the actor continues to receive criticism for his act on social media, his son Vinish Darshan has allegedly faced harassment online.
He wrote on Instagram, “Thank you all for all the bad comments and offensive language towards my father and not considering that I am a 15 year old with feelings, and even during this hard time when my mom and dad required support, cursing at me won’t change that you everyone.”
Pavithra Gowda’s daughter Khushi Gowda has turned off her comments on Instagram after receiving spiteful comments.
Divya Spandana (Ramya), who is an actor and former politician, wrote
on Instagram: “There’s a block option on social media for a reason. If the trolling persists you file a complaint. I have filed cases like any law abiding citizen should.
Chetan Ahimsa, actor, also took to X to share his opinion. “Murder accusations against actor Darshan and his accomplices are grave. We trust our state police will do due diligence. Film stars are undeserving of larger-than-life status they have received for nearly a century. We as a society are responsible for creating such monsters," he said.