Director Rahul Ravindran deletes X after death threats aimed at his children
Director Rahul Ravindran said he is deleting X after receiving death threats linked to the Ketan Agarwal debate, including those targeting his children. The backlash widened after Chinmayi Sripada defended him, prompting Rahul to step away from the platform.
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.
Rahul's response, in which he said society is inherently patriarchal, triggered a wider 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 because it remained a valuable source of sports news, especially for Indian sports beyond cricket.
Recalling how he came across the abusive posts, Rahul said he had opened the app while watching the Brazil vs Japan football match to check a football-related account, but ended up looking at his notifications instead. "I wish I hadn't," he wrote.
He described his reaction after reading the comments, saying he was filled with rage and disturbed by the thoughts they 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, singer Chinmayi Sripada, came out in support of Rahul by 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.
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.
Rahul's response, in which he said society is inherently patriarchal, triggered a wider 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 because it remained a valuable source of sports news, especially for Indian sports beyond cricket.
Recalling how he came across the abusive posts, Rahul said he had opened the app while watching the Brazil vs Japan football match to check a football-related account, but ended up looking at his notifications instead. "I wish I hadn't," he wrote.
He described his reaction after reading the comments, saying he was filled with rage and disturbed by the thoughts they 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, singer Chinmayi Sripada, came out in support of Rahul by 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.
