Yearender 2017: Priyanka, Deepika, Taapsee and Other Actresses Who Handled Trolls Like A Boss

In times like these, where a celebrity's follower count on social media -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram -- determines their popularity and the kind of influence and attention they command, it is often that our popular stars (mostly female) have to face the wrath -- criticism, insults, slut-shaming, body-shaming and even threats -- of online trolls, when the latter do not approve of their looks.

In the world of social media, everyone, including people with verified handles (accounts with blue ticks) and those without, have an opinion about everything under the sun. From being political, economic, sociocultural, fashion experts to being saviors of religious cultures and traditions and at times, just being the badass trolls, each and every account holder has multiple areas of expertise.

And when we talk of trolls - an army of faceless people on the Internet who not only have 'views and opinions' that they so often express, but who also think they have the right to abuse, threaten, slut-shame and rattle women online and demand that they dress or behave in a certain way - are nothing but a spineless, virtual gang of humans who do not have the courage to come out in the open and therefore take to such platforms to express their ‘views’.

Celebrities have had a tough time on social media and have learnt their lesson the hard way ever since opinions in the virtual space became nothing more than threatening people to fall in line. From insulting, shaming, calling names to intimidating, trolls have done it all. But some celebs know how to stand their ground and hit back. In fact, some know how hard they have to hit to be heard.

Here are a few instances when celebrities were trolled online and how they handled it like a boss.

Esha Gupta

Earlier this year, actress Esha Gupta made headlines for featuring in a hot photo-shoot, pictures of which the B-town diva shared on Instagram. The star was slut-shamed and trolled by several Instagram users for posting 'inappropriate' photos online. But, Esha did not succumb to the online trolls and gave it back to them with a lot of swag. Each time people commented on her post insulting her, Esha came back with an even sexier picture of herself to teach a lesson to those who trolled her for sporting an outfit and featuring in a photo-shoot out of choice.

Fatima Sana Shaikh

Dangal girl Fatima Sana Shaikh was trolled online for sporting a monokini during the holy month of Ramadan. From being called names to shaming her for insulting Islam, trolls left no stone unturned in abusing the actress for choosing to wear an outfit of her choice. But Fatima wasn't one to be cowed into silence by intimidation. After uploading a black and white photo on Instagram, Fatima uploaded yet another, this time a colored photograph where she is seen sporting the same monokini. Without speaking a word, Fatima gave it back to her trolls and sent out her message loud and clear that she isn't one to be rattled by some faceless, online abusers.

Priyanka Chopra

When global icon Priyanka Chopra was targeted for not wearing a 'sanskari' attire and shamed her for showing off her legs during her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Berlin, the desi girl hit back with another picture in which she actually flaunted her long, well-toned legs with her mother Madhu Chopra sitting right next to her and the diva captioned the image 'legs for days #itsthegenes with @madhuchopra nights out in #Berlin #beingbaywatch'. The desi girl surely got some swag.

Deepika Padukone

In another instance, B-town beauty Deepika Padukone was called names including 'cheap', 'vulgar', 'disgusting' and more for donning some bold garments during a photo-shoot. When the actress shared the photos on her Instagram, she was advised by trolls to wear 'traditional Indian wear' and not insult Indian culture by showing off her skin in 'short clothes'. But the diva hit back hard by posting several photographs from the same photo-shoot sporting daring outfits, flaunting her well-toned body. The message from Deepika was crystal clear - it is her choice and no one can demand that she make amends to her choices and decisions.

In yet another instance, Deepika was trolled for being 'too skinny'. The Piku actor was criticized by social media users for looking 'starved', 'malnourished' and 'anorexic'. And while several online users were busy calling her names, others took the opportunity to advise the actor to eat better and gain some weight.

Sonam Kapoor

Bollywood actress and fashionista Sonam Kapoor, too, was a victim of online trolling. When the diva sported a black Rosario Atelier ruffled-sleeve jumpsuit for an event, earlier this year, online users trolled her right, left and center for revealing too much. They called her names and slut-shamed her for donning an attire that was inappropriate. But Sonam, known for never mincing her words, later took to social media and said that the photographers went out of their way to take certain shots of her, but she couldn't care less as she is proud of her body.

Disha Patani

Actress Disha Patani was abused online for wearing a 'revealing' black Nicolas Jebran outfit for the Filmfare awards held earlier this year. People on Instagram called out the actress for exposing too much and not respecting the Indian culture and traditions. When the matter escalated, Disha lashed out at the haters for being hypocrites. She wrote, "it's easier to judge a woman on the basis of how much they cover up their skin, but it's hard to accept your own cheap mentality when you can't stop staring at those inappropriate areas which you are asking her to cover". "Wake up and start accepting that we are not going to be anybody's idea of an 'Indian girl," she added.

Taapsee Pannu

Judwaa 2 star Taapsee Pannu was trolled online not once or twice, but several times this year. Her bikini photos invited trolls to give her dressing lessons and her photo in 'short clothes' on another occasion prompted an online user to write ""Due to such stuff male's attract to seduce girl. And harassment." But Taapsee didn't hold back. She gave it back to the trolls each time and hit them hard with her strong opinion.

In an interview to News18.com earlier this year, Taapsee said, "We have a lot of torch bearers of nationalism and culture (self-proclaimed ones) in our country and it's always nice to have an opinion, but, don't shove it in my face. You keep your opinion to yourself, I have not asked for it, so, don't give it to me. I have worked extremely hard on that body, to get into that shape. It's really very hard for a 'Delhi sardarni' to compromise on food. I have made it happen, I am going to flaunt it. And, it is nobody else's business."