Irrfan Khan's son Babil comes clean on his "debilitating" phone addiction, seeking validation online, and new thriller
In new OTT film, he plays a social media influencer whose life spirals out of control
Dubai: In his latest psychological thriller Logout, late actor Irrfan Khan's son Babil Khan plays a character grappling with the very modern anxieties of phone addiction and social media obsession. In this candid conversation with Gulf News, Babil reflects on the film’s deeper themes and how the constant need for validation is slowly eroding individuality and empathy. Excerpts from our interview with Babil ...
It's such a pleasure to have you with us. I feel you’re an amazing and exclusive talent—and a bit underrated.
Thank you. But how can I be underrated if I haven’t been seen enough?
That’s true! There’s a lot of untapped talent we’re yet to see. And with Logout, we’ll finally get to see more of you ... The film's trailer spoke to me. I’m a phone addict myself. Without my phone, I feel debilitated. So tell me—why should people watch Logout?
I wouldn’t want to tell you there’s a message or anything preachy, simply because I believe that the moment you do that, you limit the film to that message. I think it’s important to watch a film for the love of cinema. At the very least, it’s entertaining. It’s a fast-paced film. The movie goes beyond the themes of phone addiction. While that's the the skeleton of the film—I’d say the soul of the film is about how an individual sacrifices self-love for external validation. He starts believing that their identity is the image shaped by other people’s opinions rather than their own. When that happens, individuality suffers, and with it, the spark of the soul dies. And when that spark dies, empathy dies too. That’s the real core of the film.
I love how you put that. It’s so true. We are constantly seeking validation, especially as digital natives. Even in my job, one of my key performance indicators is to grow my Instagram following—to seek validation from strangers. Isn’t the world moving toward that kind of dangerous norm?
Yes, and that’s why I said the phone and social media are used as the structure of the film—because it’s what’s happening right now. But honestly, our grandparents used to say, “Log kya kahenge?” (What will people say?). That pressure to conform to others’ expectations has always been there. Our individuality has been suffering because of it for generations. It’s just that now we’ve taken something very current—our addiction to phones and social media—which has become such an aggravating factor. That’s the lens we use in the film, but the theme itself is timeless.
You’re right—social media is just the loudest version of something that’s always been there. But it feels more insidious now, because we’ve tied so much of our identity to how we’re perceived online.
Exactly. And once we start defining ourselves through that lens, we begin to lose the parts of us that are truly ours. That’s when it gets dangerous.
You mentioned earlier that you can’t imagine being without your phone. Was working on this film personally confronting for you in that way?
Absolutely. You basically voiced my worst fear. Me without my phone? I genuinely can’t imagine it. It’s debilitating. I’m completely addicted to it.
That honesty is refreshing. And it feels like Log Out taps into that fear—that if we disconnect, we disappear. But in reality, what we’re losing is connection with ourselves.
That’s beautifully put. Yes, it’s about asking: who are you without all that noise? Without the phone, without the validation? And more importantly, how do you start finding your way back to that person?
Don't Miss It!
Logout will premiere on ZEE5 Global on April 18
Sign up for the Daily Briefing
Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox
