Imran Khan says he is disturbed by the trend of violent films featuring emotionally immature man-children

Imran Khan

Actor Imran Khan, who made a brief comeback to cinema earlier this year with a cameo in Happy Patel, conducted an AMA session on Reddit. He answered several questions posed by fans on the social networking site. One of his responses has particularly grabbed attention, as fans feel he took a dig at Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.

Imran Khan says no to macho roles

A fan told Imran Khan, "Please do not transition to the macho roles which are so hot right now." The actor replied, "Yeah, no interest in playing a hairy, angry man covered in blood. I think that genre is generously represented."

While Imran did not name anyone in his response, netizens assumed it was a dig at actors who are now taking up hyper-masculine roles (Dhurandhar and Animal).

Another fan asked him during the AMA session, "You were one of the few actors who portrayed a ‘good man' as calm, kind, and emotionally intelligent. Today, a lot of mainstream Bollywood heroes are loud, aggressive, and often glorify violence or problematic behaviour toward women. How do you see this shift as an actor? Do you think this is just a phase or a deeper change in storytelling? And do you see space for more grounded, sensitive male characters to return?"

The actor replied, "I have also noticed this trend and am disturbed by the way these films coddle every violent tantrum thrown by emotionally immature man-children who can't conceive of a valid reason that a woman might spurn their advances. It's important to note that there's a significant difference between portraying violence and toxicity and validating them. I see it as people chasing a trend without consideration. My own sensibilities would not permit me to participate in a narrative which I consider irresponsible."

Imran Khan's work front

The actor who was last seen in a full-fledged feature film in 2016 has been teasing his comeback for a long time. The actor made a brief cameo appearance in Vir Das's Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos earlier this year. He is yet to officially announce his next feature film. He was recently seen with Parineeti Chopra on the sets of a project.