Netflix Actor Admits to Threatening Film Critic Who Went ‘Below the Belt’

Ibrahim Ali Khan is promising to be more “composed” moving forward after snapping at a critic who he said went “below the belt” in his review of the actor’s debut film Nadaaniyan.

The 24-year-old son of Saif Ali Khan was widely criticized for his performance as Arjun Mehta in the Netflix Hindi-language romantic comedy released in March.

One of those critiques came from Pakistani movie critic Tamur Iqbal, who mocked Ibrahim’s acting skills and “huge nose” in an Instagram Story after Nadaaniyan‘s premiere. After he posted his initial opinion of the film, Iqbal posted a threatening DM he claimed Ibrahim had sent him.

“Tamur almost like Taimur .. you got my brothers name. Guess what you don’t got? His face. You ugly piece of trash, since you can’t keep your words to yourself don’t bother, they’re irrelevant just like you,” Ibrahim wrote. “Ugly goddamn piece of s—t I feel bad for you and your family – and if I see you on the streets one day, I’ll make sure I leave you uglier than you are – you walking piece of scum.”

In response, Iqbal doubled down on the actor’s “cringy” performance, but admitted his comment about Ibrahim’s nose was “in bad taste.” He continued, “Massive fan of your dad. Don’t let him down.”

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A post shared by Tamur Iqbal (@taimooriqbal12)

While some people doubted Iqbal’s screenshot was real, Ibrahim admitted to sending the text in an April cover story for Filmfare. “I know I shouldn’t have reacted but I’m also new to public scrutiny,” the actor said. “When he made that personal comment about my body, it felt like a below-the-belt remark.”

He continued with a promise to behave better in the future, noting, “But going forward, I’ll be more composed. I shouldn’t have reacted. It won’t happen again.”

Ibrahim also told the outlet that people had “high expectations” for his first film and were surprised by the “sweet, breezy rom-com” that was Nadaaniyan. “Social media is a hateful world, right now. They tried to twist it a lot,” he said. “Sure, as a lead actor, I have to bring in loads more than what I did. I know I can bring it and I am confident that I will bring it in my future projects. But I’m happy with what it was.”