Latest news with #EccentricBai
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Is Sara Ali Khan's team spinning a middle-class image? Reddit's BollyBlindsNGossip admin gives us their take
Sara Ali Khan has charmed audiences with her relatable persona, from her auto rides to her confession that her mom, Amrita Singh, handles her finances. However, Reddit's community BollyBlindsNGossip states that this narrative is more than just a coincidence. According to the community, it is a carefully crafted tale spun by her team to keep her relatable and lovable in the eyes of the public. Also read: 'We don't believe Alia Bhatt is best actress even when entire media is on her side': Reddit community BollyBlindsNGossip When it comes to spilling the tea on Bollywood, Reddit has become the go-to platform, with r/BollyBlindsNGossip reigning supreme as the destination for juicy gossip and scoops from the glamorous filmy world. Hindustan Times got the inside scoop on the wild world of Bollywood grapevine through an exclusive interview with EccentricBai, the founder and moderator of r/BollyBlindsNGossip. The conversation was facilitated by Reddit India. There's often chatter about PRs seeding stories about their clients to fuel a positive narrative, while sometimes simultaneously tearing down other stars to elevate their own. So, how do you approach moderation? 'I haven't come across an intelligent PR Professional yet. We have blatantly (got) PR driven posts like praising a celeb for something. It is shot down by members by giving counterexamples. You can't promote a positive story about a celeb on Reddit. It'll be destroyed by counter facts,' EccentricBai (EB) tells us. Picking up a reference, EccentricBai adds, 'For example, Sara Ali Khan and her 'Middle class' attitude being promoted by her team is never appreciated here. Ananya Pandey's 'Improvement in acting' claim is also not bought by this Sub. Members manage to see through every PR move'. A post shared by Viral Bhayani (@viralbhayani) In the interview, the moderator revealed that it's surprisingly easy to spot PR-driven narratives. 'It is not hard as PR is dumb. They don't understand Reddit at all. Even our members can spot orchestrated campaigns. The PR posts are laden with cliches, usually made by new accounts and posted on multiple Subreddits. It is easy to check the post history of any account. No one has ever run a successful orchestrated campaign on my Subreddit,' says EccentricBai, who started this Subreddit and has been with it since 2018. At the moment, the subreddit community has a total of 12 active mods, and boasts over 2.2 million followers. "This community is a melting pot of many conflicting ideas and people. Fans and anti-fans, Gossip mongers and cynics, Real insider sources and fake rumour spreaders, they all coexist here,' says the moderator. According to the moderator, the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput's passing marked an end to the culture of blind items on social media. 'One change I see is that Blind Items have completely stopped after Sushant Singh Rajput's death. If you remember, it was a regular feature in Rajeev Masand's weekly columns,' says EB. 'Most portals posted a blind everyday. Now Blinds are posted only by Instagram pages. They also pick hints from our comment section and weave a Blind item around it. People used to trust Blinds before, now most Blinds are seen as either rival PR's mischief or celeb's own team trying to create some controversy/discussions. I think, over the years, we all can see PR games clearly. I give credit to this Subreddit for opening people's eyes,' ends the moderator.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
‘We don't believe Alia Bhatt is best actress even when entire media is on her side': Reddit community BollyBlindsNGossip
Actor Alia Bhatt burst onto the Bollywood scene in 2012 with Karan Johar's Student of the Year, and since then, her life has been under constant public scrutiny, with every high and low sparking intense discussion and gossip, especially on Reddit's r/BollyBlindsNGossip. However, according to insiders on the subreddit, Alia is not as great an actor as it is claimed. Also read: Alia Bhatt opens up on scrutiny she faced along with fame: 'You can't not pay the price that comes with it' Today, Reddit's r/BollyBlindsNGossip has emerged as a go-to platform for Bollywood fans seeking the latest information and scoops about their favourite actors, with the community offering a wealth of insider gossip and juicy tidbits. Founder Mod EccentricBai started this Subreddit and has been with it since 2018. It has a total of 12 active mods. Currently, the r/BollyBlindsNGossip subreddit boasts over 2.2 million followers, logging in to get a peek into the lives of stars. In an interview with Hindustan Times, facilitated by Reddit India, we spoke to EccentricBai, the founder and moderator of r/BollyBlindsNGossip, to get an inside look at the community's workings and uncover the biggest scoops emerging from Bollywood. 'We don't believe Alia is best actress even when the entire media is on her side. We don't buy struggle stories of Nepo kids. A star kid travelling by auto and being praised by Viral Bhayani and other Pap pages, is ridiculed openly here as 'PR Stunt',' EccentricBai (EB) tells us over an email. Being in the gossip business isn't easy; they have to sift through fact and fiction. Sometimes, they end up taking down scoops that later turn out to be true. The moderator adds, 'Alia Bhatt's pregnancy news was posted here, two days before the wedding. We removed the post, only to realise later that it was true. Since then, we let OG gossip be posted under the 'Exaggerated claims, Unverified Source' tag." Looking back on the journey of gaining popularity, the moderator gives a special thanks to Hindustan Times for 'always giving credit to our Sub'. 'As far as I remember, portals began posting from our Subreddit around 2019, but they never gave credit to our Sub, they simply credited 'Reddit' as their source. I think we blew up when my post about Sushant Singh Rajput's Blind items was shared everywhere after his demise. We discussed how SSR was being targeted via Blind items in this post,' EccentricBai notes, adding, 'I look at it as the popularity of Reddit in India. The 2 Million is just beginning, we aren't even as mainstream as Twitter in India yet." According to EccentricBai, the community is 'a melting pot of many conflicting ideas and people. Fans and anti-fans, Gossip mongers and cynics, Real insider sources and fake rumour spreaders, they all coexist here'. When it comes to factors leading to the growth of the community, the moderator shares 'lack of options to discuss Bollywood gossip without pressure of PR and abusive fans. People fight on Twitter and language is horrible'. 'Comment section of any article on Bollywood is controlled by PR. Our Subreddit is only place where people can freely discuss Bollywood and since the discussions are actively moderated, people do not use crass language. Anonymity also leads to free speech. Basically, we are the only forum where people can discuss and gossip about Bollywood, under set rules of respect and freedom,' adds EccentricBai.
