Actor and producer Ravi Mohan announced on Saturday that he would be temporarily stepping away from acting until his divorce proceedings were concluded, citing the emotional strain of his ongoing personal crisis and relentless online scrutiny.

Ravi Mohan Opens Up About Personal Turmoil and Professional Pause

Speaking candidly at a press conference held at his office in Chennai, the actor said he has reached a point where he can no longer focus on work while navigating the upheaval in his personal life.

“I am unable to concentrate on my profession. I cannot bear the unnecessary humiliation that I have been facing,” he said.

Ravi Mohan, formerly known as Jayam Ravi, has been at the centre of intense media attention over the past several months following his separation from his estranged wife Aarti Ravi. The couple’s divorce proceedings have been underway since 2025, and public speculation intensified after his appearances with singer Keneeshaa became the subject of widespread online discussion.

Responding to criticism and rumours, Ravi Mohan issued a direct challenge to those who have been targeting him. “Many people are trying to provoke me. To all of them, I want to say one thing — this is my office, come directly. Don’t do anything indirectly.”

He reflected on his two-decade-long career and said the current situation has forced him to defend achievements he believed should speak for themselves.

“Whenever I get my divorce and my life becomes normal again, whenever this cyberbullying stops, I will return. I see everything. I know everything that is happening. For 23 years, I have worked day and night. Ninety-five percent of my films have been successful. It feels strange that I even have to say this myself, but I have earned everything through hard work.”

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Actor Speaks About Family, Mental Health and Cyberbullying

Throughout the interaction, Ravi Mohan repeatedly stressed that his family remains his greatest priority and warned that he would no longer stay silent when those close to him are targeted.

He also spoke emotionally about the online harassment directed at Keneeshaa, questioning why she had been dragged into his personal circumstances. “You all destroyed a girl through cyberbullying. I never held interviews about it, and wherever she is, I only wish her well. That’s all. What wrong did she do?”

The actor underlined his long-standing support for women’s rights, referencing his socially conscious films and rejecting allegations that he lacked respect for women. “My mother did not raise me that way. People still quote my dialogues from Peraanmai. I have always believed women are powerful and deserve respect.”

Ravi Mohan revealed that he is currently living in a rented house and said he had left his family home with nothing despite spending years building a life and providing for his children, including investing more than Rs 50 lakh in their education.

In one of the most troubling moments of the press meet, the actor showed bruises on his hands and admitted to self-harm, saying the emotional pain of being separated from his children had become overwhelming. “They are not letting me see my children. I started hurting myself. Look at this hand… this is what happens. That’s what they want. I gave in to everything. But not anymore.”

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Without naming anyone, Ravi Mohan also criticised what he described as unwarranted comments from members of the film industry regarding his private life. Despite the anguish, he ended on a note of empathy, saying he now better understands men who suffer in silence and pledged to support others facing similar struggles.

For now, Ravi Mohan says he is stepping away from the spotlight and asking fans for patience until he is able to return to filmmaking with clarity and peace of mind.

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Pop culture is defined by the dictionary as essentially a set of beliefs, values, actions, objects, or goods and practices that are popular at any given time and space in society. We grew up capturing the zeitgeist of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. So, what was our idea of pop culture? Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Shah Rukh Khan, RD Burman, Asha Bhosle, Sridevi, and Madhuri Dixit.

If Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman epitomized pain and passion, another kind of passion was Raj Kapoor and Nargis. They were their generation’s Pied Pipers, much like how Shammi Kapoor redefined Elvis Presley for India.

In the 70s, our parents would talk about the “living in sin” couple, Kabir and Protima Bedi, and the no-holds-barred singers like Asha Puthli and Usha Uthup. They would talk about Woodstock, Karen Lunel—that iconic Liril girl—and the Sami sisters singing Bom Bom Bom, Bombay Meri Jaan. Salim-Javed plugged into the mood of the nation with their words and, crucially, what they said in between the silences. These were our modern-day poets and writers. Anand Bakshi, that god of easy lyrics, told us in Amar Prem that this was a nation that even blamed Sita, so who were we lesser mortals to complain?

Neena Gupta and Sarika had kids out of wedlock and shocked the 80s, in a way defining the morality of a generation with their ballsy stance. Meanwhile, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi defined post-modern feminism on screen.

The Independent Boom: When Talent Ruled the Airwaves

What is pop culture, really, if not a shared emotional frequency? In the late 90s and early 2000s, that frequency was tuned to the independent music boom—an era defined entirely by raw, undeniable talent. We didn’t need massive movie studios to tell us what to love.

Falguni Pathak became the undisputed high priestess of indie-pop, her voice soundtracking every monsoon romance and Navratri night. Then came the smooth, localized nostalgia of Neeraj Shridhar and Bombay Vikings, making old classics feel entirely new without scarring their souls. Across the border, Strings brought a melancholic, guitar-driven maturity that captured the angst and beauty of a generation, while Euphoria, led by Palash Sen, gave us anthems infused with homegrown rock and pure, unadulterated soul. These artists didn’t rely on algorithms; they relied on melodies that lived in your head forever.

The Post-90s Crash: From Artistry to Internet Foolery

So, what happened post the 90s? How did culture go from celebrating this immense pool of talent to platforming clowns on the internet? How did pop culture become gentrified and even trivialized post-2015?

The internet went from being a democratic space that celebrated real legends to a circus ring dedicated to the whataboutery of privileged pricks like Orry. Today, our pop culture barometers are defined by the curated foolery of Urvashi Rautela, Uorfi Javed, and an endless stream of internet influencers. We watch in real-time as these digital creators—famous merely for being famous—masquerade as film stars and coveted technicians at prestigious global avenues like Cannes, reducing historical artistic stages to mere backdrops for their next viral reel.

When Aishwarya Rai, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, and Shyam Benegal went to Cannes, they went as emissaries of our cinematic soul. They stood on the Croisette because their art demanded it, making the entire nation swell with legitimate pride. Contrast that with the absolute farce of the current landscape. Recently, I was asked by a PR agency to interview a fashion influencer who is going to Cannes—someone I personally find very annoying. It begs the fundamental question: what has he actually done for the film fraternity to warrant being interviewed by a film journalist for going to Cannes? When did an international film festival become an all-expenses-paid junket for outfits and engagement metrics?

When did our cultural index fall so sharply? We boogied to Boney M and Dum Maro Dum, then to Rambha Ho in the 80s, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, and Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jaana Sanam from DDLJ. They were our ripe sexual awakening. We grew up at the movies, danced at discotheques, and sighed at the LP records of Runa Laila and Nazia Hassan. Gay parties, which used to be furtive affairs, danced to Rekha’s Umrao Jaan and Salaam-E-Ishq. Rekha and Madonna were the queen bees whose mascara flowed into the rooms, living dangerously on the wrong side of conventionality. These “bad girls” defined hedonism and pleasure.

It was indeed a hard day’s night and we had been working like dogs, dancing away to Rasputin and Dum Maro Dum. When did music deteriorate to Tunak Tunak Tun and Aaj Blue Hai Paani Paani? When did tastes crash? Did the music companies sell their souls to the devil? Did the remix culture scar the soul of our collective consciousness? When did the switch from Sholay to Chhava happen?

The Politics of Taste and the Rise of the “Baba Log”

The politics of a time have a lot to do with shaping tastes. The excesses of the Emergency led to many angry young men and women; we danced with wolves and smelt of guns and roses. In the 90s, Bollywood slept with the underworld, and Ram Gopal Varma gave us our best gangster films. A time in history was defined by the mood and climate of the era.

A Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak jostled for room space with an Ardh Satya. A Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! existed cheek by jowl with Satya. The girls and boys had genuine mojo. Manisha Koirala and Pooja Bhatt rejigged the atmosphere with their experimentation with form and culture, just like Mahesh Bhatt and Mani Ratnam did with style and content. They were the hot-blooded baba log.

Then, the NRI baba log arrived in the form of Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar with their Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… and Desi Girls. Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar pushed the form further and showed us a whole new world, as did Vishal Bhardwaj, who showed us that everything from lighting a beedi to sleeping with the enemy was cool. Gulzar at 70, much like RD Burman before him, showed us that if Pancham’s Dum Maro Dum was cool, so were Beedi Jalaile and Kajra Re. These were our modern-day pop culture pundits—whether dead or alive, their music lived on.

Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi defined the va-va-voom of the 80s and 90s. Ek Do Teen was an anthem, Kaate Nahi Kat Te was a naked invitation to lust and immortality, and Choli Ke Peeche was a promise of sinful pleasure. These bad girls did good and showed us the fuel that ran the pop culture franchise. As did Aishwarya Rai with her Cannes chutzpah, innumerable beauty ads, and delicious looks.

Bachchan defined the millennials with Kaun Banega Crorepati, just as his wife Jaya Bhaduri had done for an earlier generation with Guddi, Mili, and Abhimaan. This power couple was a blueprint for the ages. Sharmila Tagore and her husband, Tiger Pataudi, defined another zeitgeist entirely: pure coolth.

Did Social Media Kill the Star?

What happened now? How did we crash and burn? How did pop culture become stale and ossified? Surely Rakhi Sawant and Urvashi Rautela shouldn’t be the high priestesses defining taste. Like radio did before it, has social media killed the star? Will everyone, like Andy Warhol predicted, just have their 15 minutes of fame?

Does this mean no more Aradhana, Deewar, DDLJ, and Dil Chahta Hai? Will we no longer listen to our silences? Will we no longer hum Lag Jaa Gale or Piya Tose Naina Lage Re? How do we even imagine a world without Lata Mangeshkar?

Today, we have no causes to fight, no movements to put fire in our bellies, no blood to spill. It is religion and social media that act as the opium of the masses—everyone is just scrolling. Endless reels, political rallies, governments falling down, and panic over the next virus.

Who took away and killed our pop culture stories, making us dance to hollow remixes of Rambha Ho and Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja?

Rise up, boys and girls—the revolution has to come back. Tough times produce the best music, the best films, and the best art. As far as pop culture goes, we have hit rock bottom. Don’t you wish for another Dum Maro Dum and Didi Tera Devar Deewana? Don’t you want the hills to be alive with the sound of music again? The answer is blowing in the wind. Stop scrolling. Bring out your CD players, your LPs, and your Walkmans. Go back to making movies that deserve golden and platinum jubilees.

Old is never roll.

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Actor, filmmaker and Member of Parliament Kamal Haasan has called on the Indian film industry to rethink the way movies are made, advocating for more disciplined and sustainable production practices in response to rising costs and global uncertainty.

In an open letter shared on his social media handles, Kamal addressed the potential impact of the ongoing crisis in West Asia and warned that the resulting inflationary pressures could place additional strain on an industry already grappling with escalating budgets and uneven box office recovery.

Every Rupee Must Serve The Film

Kamal noted that the consequences of rising costs would extend beyond film sets and could influence how audiences spend on entertainment in the months ahead.

“For the Indian film industry, this comes at a time when budgets are already escalating, and market recoveries remain uneven. Rising costs will not affect film production alone. Consumer spending patterns for entertainment may also change in the months ahead due to inflationary pressures. The burden will inevitably fall on producers, workers, theatres, distributors, financiers, and the entire ecosystem. If cinema must continue to grow, we must ensure that every rupee spent serves the film, and not merely the appearance of scale.”

The actor emphasised that any financial correction should never come at the expense of the people who keep productions running.

“Let me be clear. Any correction in cinema economics must never come at the cost of workers’ wages, safety, dignity, food, transport, accommodation, or humane working conditions. The burden cannot fall on those who labour the hardest. The correction we need is elsewhere: in avoidable waste, poor planning, inflated entourage culture, unnecessary foreign travel, production delays, and the growing disconnect between spending and purpose. Why must every love story bloom only in Paris, and every honeymoon end in Switzerland? Romance, fortunately, does not require foreign exchange. Indian cinema, and Indians, deserve a little more confidence in themselves and our beautiful country.”

My appeal to our Industry.@ficci_india @producers_guild @tfpcin @TFPCOffl @kfpaofficial @TFCCofficial @imppa_official @federation_film @fwicemum @aifecsocial @aicwaofficial @tfapatn #SouthIndianFilmChamberOfCommerce #NorthernIndiaMotionPicturesAssociation… pic.twitter.com/24WXgYlbHN

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) May 15, 2026

An Industry-Wide Push For Sustainable Practices

Kamal also proposed a broad consultation involving producers, directors and unions representing technicians and other film workers to create more efficient and environmentally conscious production methods.

“Together, we must evolve practical and sustainable operating practices for efficient filmmaking: better shooting discipline, tighter schedules, reduced luxury and entourage expenses, limiting avoidable foreign travel where suitable local alternatives exist, conserving energy across sets and studios, and encouraging sustainable set construction and reuse of materials. Extravagance has often been mistaken for scale. But some of our greatest films were made not with excess, but with clarity, discipline, and conviction. The national call for responsible consumption and collective discipline is a timely reminder that every sector must act with foresight and restraint in periods of global uncertainty. The Indian film industry too must rise to the occasion.”

His statement comes shortly after the Central Government urged citizens to conserve resources and use them judiciously in view of the tensions in West Asia.

Kamal has often spoken about the need for structural reform within the entertainment business, both as a filmmaker and as a policymaker. With this latest message, he has once again pushed for a production culture where ambition is guided by efficiency, and where thoughtful planning takes precedence over unnecessary extravagance.

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