‘Misinterpreted’: Babil Khan’s family issues clarification after actor breaks down and calls Bollywood ‘fakest industry’

Hours after Babil Khan, actor and the son of late actor Irrfan Khan, broke down on Instagram stories and called Bollywood ‘the fakest industry’, his family and team have issued a statement clarifying that the video has been ‘misinterpreted’ and that the actor was having a difficult day

Hours after Babil Khan, actor and the son of late actor Irrfan Khan, broke down on Instagram stories and called Bollywood ‘the fakest industry’, his family and team have issued a statement clarifying that the video has been ‘misinterpreted’ and that the actor was having a difficult day. The family also said that Babil is safe and that he will be feeling better soon.

“Over the past few years, Babil Khan has earned immense love and appreciation for his work, as well as for his openness about his mental health journey. Like anyone else, Babil is allowed to have difficult days and this was one of them. We want to reassure all his well-wishers that he is safe and will be feeling better soon. That said, a video of Babil has been widely misinterpreted and taken out of context,” read the statement.

In the videos, the actor, visibly broken down, said, “Bollywood is the most fakest, fakest, fakest industry that I’ve ever ever been a part of. But there are few people that want Bollywood to be better...I got to show you so much more, so much more, so much more. I have so much more to give you...” In another story poster shortly thereafter, Babil said, “What I mean to say is that...I just want you guys to know that there are people like Shanaya Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Arjun Kapoor, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Raghav Juyal, Adarsh Gourav and Arijit Singh. There are so many more names. Bollywood is so f*****. Bollywood is so, so rude.”

This prompted netizens and viewers to believe that Babil was mentioning celebrities who had somehow caused this emotional breakdown. However, the family’s statement said that the video has been misinterpreted. “In the clip, Babil was sincerely acknowledging a few of his peers whom he believes are making meaningful contributions to the evolving landscape of Indian cinema. His mention of artists like Ananya Panday, Shanaya Kapoor, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Raghav Juyal, Adarsh Gourav, Arjun Kapoor, and Arijit Singh came from a place of genuine admiration for their authenticity, passion, and efforts to restore credibility and heart in the industry. We respectfully urge media publications and the public to consider the full context of his words rather than drawing conclusions from fragmented video clips,” it read.

Just last week, Babil remembered his late father on his fifth death anniversary. “With you, without you. Life goes on, With me, without me. Soon I’ll be there. With you, not without you. And we will run together, and fly, Drink from waterfalls, pink not blue. I will hug you so tight, and I will cry, Then we’ll laugh, just like we used to. I miss you,” he wrote.

Babil made his debut as an actor in 2022’s Qala and was then seen in 2023’s Friday Night Plan, co-starring Juhi Chawla. However, it was the Prime Video series The Railway Men that gave Babil his big break. The actor was recently seen in ZEE5’s thriller Logout.