Filmmaker and actor Rahul Ravindran has deleted the X (formerly Twitter) app from his phone after online trolls targeted his family, including his four-year-old children, over a baseless connection between his film The Girlfriend and the high-profile Ketan Agarwal murder case. The abuse escalated to the point where a user allegedly organized a joint prayer session hoping for the death of his children.
Background of the Controversy
Ravindran's film The Girlfriend, starring Rashmika Mandanna, portrays a woman trapped in a toxic relationship. Online debates around the film's themes were linked by some users to the real-life murder of Ketan Agarwal, in which his fiancée Siya Goyal is implicated. Trolls began demanding that Ravindran make a film about "atrocities of women on men," citing the Pune Fort case.
Personal Threats Force Exit
Speaking exclusively to this writer, Ravindran explained the sequence of events: "Basically, every time there is a crime committed by a woman on a man, I get a bunch of people coming to my timeline and saying, oh, you know how to make a movie like The Girlfriend, why don't you make a movie about this? And this is a bunch that has been highly triggered and offended by the film." The situation escalated when threats became personal. Ravindran stated: "Honestly, hate doesn't get to me as long as it's directed at me. I had even somehow gotten used to hate directed at my wife (singer Chinmayi), but I don't think I have it in me to get used to hate directed at my children who are four years old."
Specific Death Threats Against Children
Ravindran revealed the shocking nature of the threats: "A guy asking for a joint prayer session so that … I can't even get myself to say it… but so that the children die. Can you believe that?" He added, "What do you do with people who are anonymous? You can't even get back. You can't do anything. And I'm OK not getting back also, as long as it doesn't come as far as my kids."
Broader Debate on Cinema and Crime
The incident has reignited discussions about the influence of films on real-world crime. While research and societal consensus indicate that cinema can normalize problematic behavior and provide blueprints for impressionable minds, criminologists and psychologists generally view the relationship as a cyclical feedback loop rather than a direct cause-and-effect. Filmmakers argue that cinema reflects existing socio-economic realities and systemic issues. Severe criminal acts are typically driven by complex individual pathologies, socioeconomic desperation, or environmental upbringing, rather than a three-hour film.
