Babil admits troll featuring father Irrfan hurt him

Babil Khan, son of the versatile actor Irrfan Khan, is now gearing up for his next project — a tech-thriller titled Logout. While his unconventional choices continue to earn him appreciation in the industry, his sincere nature has, ironically, made him the target of online trolls.
A recent incident on the red carpet, where Babil was seen apologising to a fellow actor for photobombing, quickly went viral. Though the gesture appeared genuine, it drew criticism from some netizens, with many labelling it as pretentious. He has often faced such bullying for his innocence and kindness towards others.
In a recent conversation with India Today, Babil opened up about the trolling he experiences online. While he admitted that most memes and negative comments don’t faze him, one particular post left him deeply wounded — a meme that involved a powerful scene from his late father

Irrfan

Khan’s film

Madaari

.

“Initially, it didn’t matter, but it did affect me. There were certain memes — one in particular — that really hurt me. The video had Baba’s (Irrfan’s) Madaari scene when he loses his son and is crying. It was a very emotional scene, and I know what he thought, what he was going through when he shot it. Baba had shared it with me. And they took that scene and wrote that Irrfan is looking down at his son, thinking about his legacy and [crying]. Then they added the clip of me on the red carpet saying sorry. That hurt me a lot... because it was about my Baba. They involved him,” he shared.

Despite the pain, Babil expressed compassion for the person behind the meme, acknowledging that they too might be struggling to earn a living. Over time, he has tried to ignore the negativity.
Babil

said with a grin, “I’m sure Baba must also be feeling that I have not thought about my legacy as much as you all are thinking about it.”
The young actor also spoke about his bond with fans, admitting that he often drives his security team crazy by crossing barricades to engage with the crowd. To him, fans are not distant admirers — they’re people he relates to on a personal level.
Reflecting on the impact of social media, Babil noted that everyone is unknowingly under a lot of pressure and trying to make themselves feel important. He believes that refraining from doing so can help ease one’s journey. He also mentioned that there have been times when pages that had trolled him came forward later to apologise, admitting they too are under pressure to maintain their platforms.
Logout will be available on OTT from April 18.