The HinduAnd then the Internet happened and suddenly, people writing in the newspapers werent that important anymore. Everyone with a blog, a Twitter handle, a Facebook page could voice his or her (very valid) opinions about a film or album or star or song. With the Internets help, we finally seem to have entered an era with more people being able to say what they really want to say. No wonder actors and filmmakers appear rattled.There used to be a fairy-tale time when only a handful of reviewers opined about a film with some kind of seriousness. These reviewers existed in the mainstream media space, and they were read only in the places where the physical newspaper or magazine was available. So people in the film industry didnt really pay much attention to reviews. Well, maybe they felt bad if they didnt like something in the review, but in the overall scheme of things that wasnt as they say these days such a biggie. After all, these reviews didnt contribute all that much to the word of mouth about the movie. They didnt go viral. Also, actors and filmmakers got so much from the non-reviewing side of the media, all those photographers and writers who made stars and directors feel like gods, and entered into an implicit pact that nothing too harsh would be said (otherwise future photo-ops and interview-ops would not be made available). Sometimes stars and directors would cultivate journalists, instil in them the feeling that they were friends, and thus ensure that nothing really bad got written about them outside of the reviews. And then the Internet happened. Suddenly, reviewers could not be ignored. Everyone with a blog, a Twitter handle, a Facebook page began to voice his or her (very valid) opinions about a film or an album or a star or a song. With newspaper reviewers, theres still the effort to maintain a sense of dignity in the writing, meaning that you try to remain polite even while expressing strongly negative views. Not getting personal, its called. Of course, sometimes the films are so bad that they demand you get snarky and then all bets are off. My rule of thumb is this. If its a film made with some level of sincerity or if its by newcomers, then even if things arent great, I try not to get snarky. If the film doesnt work for me, Id just say the film doesnt work for me. But if its something thats consumed crores of production money and theres nothing to speak of, then yes, snark is par for the course. Because these arent newbie mistakes. These filmmakers have treated us with contempt, and its only fair that some of this contempt makes its way back to them. So for the first time, an actual critical culture is looking possible in Tamil cinema. An actual critical culture can happen only if there are no sacred cows, and despite this governments policies, the Internet has systematically gone about butchering all sacred cows. Those ivory towers where you locked yourself with a few fawning yes-men all gone. Who you were doesnt matter anymore. What you did doesnt matter anymore. Even who you are, what you do doesnt matter all that much. The only thing that matters is what side of the bed the Internet wakes up on the day your movie is released. Its that arbitrary. Trying to control this is like trying to control the wind. Today, radio shows freely satirise and make sarcastic remarks about stars and directors, and then slap on a disclaimer at the end that this isnt meant to hurt anyone. Even that disclaimer sounds sarcastic. In the mainstream-media era, this might have been considered disrespect. But today, its just irreverence. Its a quality thats fairly new in India. Or maybe it always existed, and its just now, with all this media around us, that weve realised just how irreverent we really are. So what do you do if youre from the film industry? My unsolicited suggestion: Write back. If a newspaper critic says something you dont agree with, write back to the newspaper. Start a dialogue. The newspaper will happily publish your side of things. This back-and-forth interaction, without fear or favour, is a part of a robust critical culture. All bloggers already do some version of this on their comments space, which is open to everyone. And heres what Ive found. If people realise that youre being sincere about your work, that youre not just shooting your mouth off, then even if they think youre an idiot, theyll take pains to point out why they think youre an idiot and a lot of the time, theyll do this nicely. Sometimes this helps. It makes you regard your work a little differently. But even if it doesnt help, its part of the critical culture Im talking about. I am a critic, but my word isnt the final word. My readers are critics of my criticism. Some of those commentators turn critics of other commentators. It goes on. This feedback, this dialogue is the thing thats fostering a robust critical culture. And if youre making movies with sincerity, youll find that there are enough people out there wholl stand up for your work and counter the trolls. And if youre just in the industry to make money, if none of this matters, then you shouldnt care at all. Its really the distributor whos suffering the losses, right?