'People are very sensitive these days'

Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar, who has made films like 'Jogi', 'Sultan' and 'Bharat', recently said that because we are living in sensitive times, filmmakers and content creators should impose self-censorship to avoid trolling. The 'Gunday' director was asked about the boycott culture and if it is manufactured or organic and he said that 'there is no smoke without fire'.

In a chat with a popular radio channel, Ali said, "I definitely think that this whole boycott culture started because people thought that certain things that are being shown are wrong."

"As an industry, while scripting and writing characters, we must remember that people are very sensitive these days. We must self-censor so no one can misinterpret what we are trying to say," he added.

Ali said that not every tweet that bashes Bollywood comes from a bot. He insisted that filmmakers should write and create the kind of content that bots and trolls can't find any fault with.

"I believe that it is our responsibility that we should humbly create content of the kind that when the audience watches it, the ones we are calling paid bots and trolls, they watch it and say there is nothing wrong with it. When something is wrong, you cannot fight it. You have to be on the same level as them and talk to them. You have to make them understand that you understand their point of view. And when such a movie is made, where they can't question anything, this entire conversation will be null and void," he shared.

Ali Abbas Zafar landed in a lot of controversy after the release of his 'Prime Video' series 'Tandav' and had to ultimately issue an apology and edit certain scenes from the show. Talking about that experience, he said that he made a mistake with 'Tandav', which is why it was okay to apologise.

"It is my effort to make things that unite people. With 'Tandav', I learnt storytelling and there were certain things in it that angered people. We should have seen it from a different point of view. I apologised and edited those scenes because I can't separate my audience from myself," he added.