Bollywood stars who refuse to ride the social media wave

In today's digital age, it's hardly surprising to see that social networking sites have come to dominate our lives. From a time when the internet was a new phenomenon to now when scores of people across the world are active participants on social media, we have come a long way. No wonder then, Bollywood's stars too have turned netizens. From promoting their latest film or brand to announcing their personal milestones, social media has indeed become the go-to platform for B-town's celebs.

Kangna Ranaut was apparently asked to join a social media site and endorse a brand's line of products, but the actress, not keen to join the social network, turned down the offer. Pic/Shadab Khan

What's interesting is that despite the soaring popularity of social media, some celebs have managed to stay immune to it all. These celebs have consciously chosen to not create their social media profiles. For instance, Kangna Ranaut. The Queen actress has not joined any social media site but she was recently asked to endorse a brand. What's more, the brand had apparently laid down a condition: they wanted her to join a social media site and post messages promoting their products.

On her part, Kangana, who was not keen to join the site, turned down the offer. The actress apparently feels that these sites make a person display his/her loneliness. It is said that even on her phone, the actress only uses basic applications.

hitlist takes a look at other actors and actresses who have maintained a distance from social media...

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Unlike her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan and husband Abhishek Bachchan, both of whom are quite active on social media, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan hasn't fallen prey to the charms of the online world. She is said to be not tech-savvy at all and she has apparently tweeted via Abhishek's account only on some occasions (read: on her birthday and anniversary) to thank her fans.

Katrina Kaif

It is said that at one point of time, Katrina Kaif had considered joining a micro-blogging site, but she eventually decided against it. Clearly, she agrees with beau Ranbir as far as social media is concerned. Sources say that the actress is okay with posting her thoughts and snaps but at the same time, she doesn't want to face negative comments and end up being drawn into a war of words. "She feels that once she joins social media, she will have to constantly clarify things," says
a source.

Vidya Balan

Social media may be crawling with a plethora of fake accounts under the name of Vidya Balan, but the Kahaani actress has successfully managed to stay away from online madness. The actress believes that she doesn't need to join one; she thinks that she would rather spend time with her family instead of updating her account and sharing her status. She also confesses that she is not tech-savvy at all.

Saif Ali Khan

While Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan have an overwhelming number of followers on social media, Saif Ali Khan has stayed away from it. The actor, though not a recluse, reaches out to his fans only through media interviews and even as far as his personal life is concerned, he is very discreet. He has apparently said that he likes the shroud of mystery surrounding a star and he wants to keep that intact by not joining any social media sites.

Kareena Kapoor

It is not just Saif, but his actress wife Kareena Kapoor too is not kicked about the idea of online presence. Two years ago, the actress had briefly joined a social media platform to promote her film, Heroine, but she had done so under her character's name. Since then she has never returned to the site or created any other account for herself. It turns out that Kareena prefers to keep her life private and is not willing to share anything on any site.

Ranbir Kapoor

The Kapoor scion thinks that there is too much negativity on these sites and this is why he has chosen not to join any of these public platforms. He thinks that people either praise or abuse actors on such sites and that joining them will expose him to all kinds of people and their responses. In one of his interviews, he said that these sites would either spoil him or make him feel bad. Moreover, he stated that he doesn't have anything intelligent to share on such platforms.

Rani Mukerji

Rani Mukerji can hardly be described as an outgoing person and it should come as no surprise that she is not on any social networking site. Though she had once admitted that she is curious to know people's response to her films through social media. In her immediate family, most people are off social media and brother-in-law Uday Chopra is among the few who is part of the social network.

Kajol

The actress may not be on Twitter, but she had a taste of trouble four years ago, when an imposter made some controversial comments about My Name Is Khan. Back then, political party Shiv Sena had objected to the film's name and Kajol's comments were believed to have escalated the matter. But the actress then clarified that she is not on any networking site and that she had never made any scathing comment whatsoever. The actress has still not joined any site.

Imran Khan

The actor was part of the Twitterati once upon a time but he deactivated his account later on, as he thought that Twitter is not a suitable platform for him to connect with his fans. He has also stated in one of his interactions that he doesn't want people to intrude upon his personal life. He is said to have noted that these platforms make people lose their individuality.