[tgs]

‘Killing’ ageing superstars before their time comes, seems to be one of the in-things the internet and social media have come to specialize in! After fake rumours about Lata Mangeshkar and Rajesh Khanna’s demise this year, now the internet has gone ahead and ‘killed’ megastar Amitabh Bachchan this week. A Blogspot blog reported Big B’s demise in a “car accident” on its home page a few hours ago; causing panic among Twitterati and Blackberry Messenger (BBM) users who broadcast and discussed it, till they realized it was a false alarm.

According to the said blog, "Amitabh Bachan died in a single vehicle crash on Route 80 between Morristown and Roswell. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics responding to the vehicle accident and was identified by photo ID found on his body. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to have been a factor in this accident - June 26, 2012.” (sic)

Also carrying photograph of a car turned over, the article added that “The Highway Safety Investigators have told reporters that Amitabh Bachan lost control while driving a friend's vehicle on Interstate 80 and rolled the vehicle several times killing him instantly.” (sic)

“Memorial services for Amitabh Bachan have not yet been announced. The service is expected to be a closed casket funeral due to the severe head trauma,” (sic) it concluded after a further description of the so-called ‘accident’.

Commenting on such misleading reports, Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar smirked, “The bol bachchan (talking big) attitude of the internet and social media often borders on irony when it keeps ‘killing’ superstars.”

“Social media is a very influential and powerful platform, and everyone should be wary of what they broadcast without verifying. When the rumour broke out, Mr Bachchan was happily tweeting almost every 15 minutes. It just takes a little bit of patience and research to check facts, but sadly, not many do that before they jump to conclusions and discussions on the net,” he analyzed.