To be honest IT cell can harm films online if not in theatres. They do create negative buzz.
They have succeeded in spreading lies about Khans attributing FALSE statements to them such as SRK 'said he will leave India if Modi becomes PM' and 'Aamir said Hindus waste milk by pouring on Shivling'. Both are UNTRUE. Neither SRK or Aamir said the things attributed to them by IT cell propaganda machinery.
I hope stars begin to take action against sites and YouTube channels spreading falsehoods and defamatory propaganda against them. Akki did the right thing when he sued a YouTuber.
Having said that, I do not think boycott propaganda and paid hashtags by IT cell can actually harm a film or brand in real life. Surf Excel and Brooke Bond still sell fine despite boycott calls against them. Dangal, PK, Singham 2, Dhoom 3, Sooryavanshi, Tiger Zinda hai, Haider, OMG, all succeeded despite boycott hashtags against them.
These lies and nonsense never affect films in real life as there are already few stars we have and few reliable, trustworthy makers who make watchable films.
Even in past films like Fanaa, OMG, RDB, Jodha Akbar became hits despite controversies and calls to ban them.
IT cell chillars already never have enough to buy tickets of films or subscribe to Netflix, Hotstar and Amazon. Their rants on free platforms like FB, Twitter, WA, Quora, Reddit, YouTube mean nothing eventually.
25