Gurmeet Choudhary on his kids getting trolled: It comes with stardom, and we have made peace with it

In an interview with Hindustan Times, actor Gurmeet Choudhary talks about the response to his web show, Commander Karan Saxena, and how he deals with trolling.

Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee have built a fan following on social media by sharing bits and pieces of their lives. While lots of people love seeing what they're up to, there is a section on social media that trolls them as well as their kids. However, Gurmeet feels it is the biggest trapping of being famous and doesn’t let it impact him or his family.

Gurmeet Choudhary shares two daughters -- Lianna and Divisha -- with Debina Bonnerjee.

On kids paying price of his fame

Gurmeet got married to Debina on February 15, 2011. They were blessed with their first daughter, Lianna, in April last year and welcomed Divisha in November of the same year. It is only recently that they have started sharing their life on social media, which comes with its share of trolling

“When we are an actor and public figure, your life is not just yours… We make it public. We are working for all the people, and to get their love,” Gurmeet tells us.

He continues, “It was our decision to get into this profession and become public figures. We wanted to be stars. And living a public life, open to all, is the negative side that comes with that sphere”.

Initially, Gurmeet started out he never imagined that his kids would have to pay the price of his fame but now he has learnt to tackle it. “We have learned how to tackle the negativity. When it comes to our social media presence, 80-85 percent is filled with good and positive stuff, and 5 percent of the people troll us and our kids,” mentions the actor.

Here, Gurmeet asserts, “But we can’t do anything about it. Most often we try to overlook the negative stuff and focus on the positive things being written about us. We focus on the love that we get, and ignore the negativity aimed towards me and my family”.

On dealing with trolls

It’s not just his kids who get trolled on social media. There are times when the actor is also at the receiving end in the virtual world. But he has learnt the art of ignoring hate and focusing on constructive feedback that he gets from his fans.

“I don’t react to trolling. When I feel that someone is intentionally picking on me on social media, I skip that comment. I want to focus on the good comments on social media, and that is something that I practise. My focus is always on the good and positive comments, and comments from the critics talking about my work. The intention is to know how I am going and how I can mend the way to get better in my craft. I ignore trolls completely,” says the actor, who is known for his work on television and digital platforms.

On response to Commander Karan Saxena

The actor was most recently in web show Commander Karan Saxena, which was released on Disney+ Hotstar. The show, directed by Jatin Wagle, follows a RAW agent as he dives into a high-stakes political mystery to save the nation. Gurmeet is seen in the titular role. He also made his singing debut with a rap song for the series.

Talking about the response to the show, Gurmeet says, “The response has just been overwhelming for the whole team”.

“After the show was released, I had people from liftman to watchman in my society come up to me and ask me about the show, asking me when the next episode will come. Before the show, I got personalised T-shirts made for my whole team, which had the show’’s name embossed on it. Some people stopped one of the boys from my team to enquire about the show in a local train. He was so excited to come and narrate the whole incident to me,” Gurmeet says.

He adds, “I was so touched that people are loving the show so much. It was heartening to see the response, especially people from all age groups watching it”.