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Rajeev Khandelwal reflects on his 20-year journey with media misrepresentation, calling out clickbait culture and false headlines. He says earlier it bothered him, but now he remains detached, ignores gossip, and avoids Googling himself, prioritising peace over validation or criticism.

Mumbai: Actor Rajeev Khandelwal, known for his understated performances and fiercely individual choices, has spent over two decades navigating the ever-evolving media landscape. From being labelled “arrogant” to having his name used in misleading headlines that say he has 'starry tantrums', the actor has seen it all.

Yet today, he approaches it with a sense of detachment and clarity. In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, Rajeev opened up about dealing with false narratives, clickbait culture, and why he consciously chooses to stay away from consuming news about himself.

On dealing with misleading media reports over the years, Rajeev said, "It’s like when you’ve dealt with it for more than two decades, it doesn’t matter to you anymore. Yes, it did matter earlier. Each time I saw something, I’ve had fights, and I’ve wondered why they would even do this. There is no truth in it. You are just saying it for the sake of creating sensational news.

The headline is wrong — please go and do your fact-checking. There is nothing like this that exists. Do you even know why I said no to something? Do you even know that I’m not part of the project? Why are you constantly using my name just to kickstart something?”