"Amitabh Bachchan" – it's one of the most well-known names in the country. Top three toh *for sure*.
Like, his fans literally camp out near his house every Sunday just to catch a glimpse of the man. He's, as John Lennon might say, "more popular than Jesus" over here.
And his social media numbers back this claim up in pretty much every way. Bachchan is followed by approximately 100 million people across platforms online.
Now, I'm sure a celebrity of that stature has plenty of things to worry about – his work, his legacy, his... Twitter follower count?
Yaaa... As it turns out, Bachchan is OBSESSED. In recent months, he has very publicly (and on multiple occasions) called out Twitter for messing with his numbers*.
His annoyance at his follower count apparently not increasing started way back in January. It's been four months since, and his frustration has only become more evident.
He's tried everything to get those in charge to pay attention to his plight. He's approached them with folded hands...
He's boosted tweets from fans as concerned as him...
And, like a jilted ex, he's even tried to make them jealous by subtly name-dropping the other platforms he's on.
In fact, at one point, his tantrum reached such biblical proportions that Twitter actually had to deploy an entire damage control team to personally tell him that they weren't fudging his numbers in any way.
T 2619 - The Twitter team came from across the seas to visit me at work and to explain to me how TWITTER works .. thank you ! The truth of the working is so 'apparent' !! https://t.co/RTJdHkepZb
Evidently, they did such a bad job of convincing him, he couldn't even stop himself from being sarcastic in his tweet thanking them.
And, so, here we are – the man deservedly crowned the "Greatest Star Of Stage Or Screen" by the BBC, getting annoyed and passive aggressive about not receiving enough validation on one app.
T 2745 - THANK YOU TWITTER .. for your continued honest, transparent, absolutely unbiased, non preferential, fair, justified rendering of followers on platform .. I mean, really .. you are epitome of the sincerest truth !! GOD BLESS YOU , & may you continue to fashion us thus !🙏 https://t.co/l2RJb1T69x
See, that's the thing. This behaviour makes sense coming from a low-rung influencer. Coming from the "Superstar Of The Millennium" (Filmfare), "Actor Of The Century" (Alexandria International Film Festival), and the first living Asian to have a statue in London's Madame Tussauds... it's a little ~unnecessary~.
Bachchan, however, is unstoppable in his crusade to prove that he's the most beloved celebrity in India. His new strategy involves sharing pieces which posit that he has more "real" followers than other celebs.
T 2814 - GOODNESS .. !! Thats a lot of research done by the media .. !!
And it's a crusade that's left him open to a lot of mockery from the general public.
Like, a lot.
Of course, if you've followed him for a while, you know that this is just another in a long line of eccentric tics he displays on Twitter. Like the fact that he attaches his photo to EVERY tweet, no matter what the context.
T 2508 - INDIA thrash the British .. !! Yuvraj, it is the champion that disproves with his proof .. you were an exceptional Champion today https://t.co/DH3f7oWFgp
Or the fact that he uses the platform to shame young stars who won't reply to his texts.
Now I want you to know that I'm not making fun of the guy. For a 75-year-old handling his social media himself, he's actually doing a very commendable job.
So I guess what I wanna say is this – Twitter, if you're actually messing with AB's numbers, please stahp before someone gets hurt. And if you're not, just mess with the celebs above him on the list and reduce their numbers or something. End this madness already!
