Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Director-actor Rahul Ravindran has announced that he is deleting X after facing a barrage of abusive messages, including death threats targeting his children, amid an online debate around the death of Pune man Ketan Agarwal. The controversy began after an X user, while referring to Ketan Agarwal’s death case, questioned Rahul about making a film on “atrocities against men” since he directed The Girlfriend, starring Rashmika Mandanna.
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Rahul’s response, which talked about how society is inherently patriarchal, triggered a larger debate online, with him and his family becoming targets of personal attacks.
Reacting to the attacks, Rahul said he had decided to leave the platform. “I am done,” with this app he wrote, explaining that he had been wanting to quit X for some time but stayed back because it remained a valuable source of sports news, especially for Indian sports beyond cricket.
Recalling how he came across the abusive post, Rahul said he had opened the app while watching the Brazil vs Japan football game to check a football-related account but ended up checking his notifications. “I wish I hadn’t,” he wrote.
He described his reaction after reading the comment, saying he was filled with rage and disturbed by the thoughts it triggered. Rahul added that he “didn’t like the guy” he became after reading the posts and did not want any platform to have that kind of power over him.
“Maybe I am overreacting. Maybe it’s somehow my fault maybe my kids and I deserve this hate,” Rahul wrote, before reiterating that he was deleting the app from his phone.
He concluded that the incident made him uncomfortable with his own response and emotions, saying he chose to step away rather than allow online hostility to affect him further.
Earlier, his wife and singer Chinmayi Sripaada came in support of her husband Rahul, sharing his previous post about marriage, empathy and mutual respect. She appealed to the women asking them to marry a man like Rahul or don’t get married at all. Her response, however, drew further backlash, with more users engaging in heated exchanges and directing criticism towards the couple.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
