Babil on viral apology video: ‘That sorry, sorry, sorry was me being anxious`

To Babil Khan, Logout presented an unmissable opportunity. Playing an influencer obsessed with internet validation in a thriller helmed by Amit Golani of TVF Pitchers fame felt like a “gift” to the actor. The Zee5 film also gave him the means to satiate his curiosity to understand people’s need for internet validation. “I auditioned for it after Friday Night Plan [2023]. I didn’t have the luxury to choose. It was as if life gave me a gift to have the opportunity to perform this character in Amit sir’s [film]. I’m not an avid social media user. I post something and leave; I don’t scroll at all. But I wanted to understand what it is that makes people sacrifice their self-worth for validation from people you can’t even see,” he says.

Last year, Khan experienced the unforgiving side of the internet when he was trolled after a video of him from an event went viral. The clip featured him apologising to a female celebrity multiple times after he realised he stood in front of her to get clicked at the red carpet. Netizens were quick to label his behaviour “extra” and “pretentious”. “I was being too nice, though,” he smiles, before pointing out that the reaction was instinctive given the situation. “That ‘sorry sorry sorry’ was me being anxious. Whatever it became was a beast of its own. Some particular memes hurt me. I sat with [the feeling]. But I was scuba diving after that. I still could make music and read my books. It didn’t make me trust myself less.” 

(From left) Rasika Dugal and Babil Khan in Logout

But that incident made Khan step away from public appearances. A personal choice, he says. He explains, “I felt there were things I needed to work on within myself. It wasn’t out of bitterness.” What were the changes he felt he needed to incorporate? “I thought that there has to be a balance between the job of a celebrity, that of an actor and who you are as a human being. You have to find bridges between all of them.”

While many trolled the actor for the episode, a section also appreciated Khan’s chivalrous behaviour, something he has maintained since his debut with Qala (2022). Khan says he looks at the current times as a chance to transform the idea of an alpha male. “After Gen-Z, generation Alpha has come in. It’s a great opportunity to evolve the alpha male. You can be the most macho man and still be respectful.”