Babil Khan, always a beaming bundle of energy and sincerity, is as much a keen listener as he is a passionate speaker. Hearing of the easy access his father Irrfan Khan allowed during his schooting schedule in Calcutta for The Namesake in 2005, he turns wistful. “In those days, actors could be actors. Aj actor ko celebrity banna padta, brand banana padta. Today celebrities need protection from people. Kya karen, zamana jaisa hai waise hi chalna padta hai! No one feels it more keenly than I do,” he responds emotionally, adding: “By the time, he completed Hindi Medium, times had started to change. Baba ko bhi lagta tha ki woh kam mil patey they logon se and someone else was answering on his behalf.” The young actor, who likes to keep his mobile phone switched off, speaks of his latest film Logout, a psychological thriller where he plays an influencer infatuated with social media. The film dropped on Zee5 on April 18.

What is Logout about?

It is a psychological thriller. An obsessed fan steals my character’s phone and hacks into it. She starts controlling my life. The film shows how our life is our phone. It has our bank details, our photographs, our business, our ideas.... It has become a body part that is more important than our brain.

Tell us about your role in the film. How different is it from yourself?

I play an influencer. He has a need to get noticed and recognised. But I have no relation with the phone. Neither do I have the kind of connection with social media that this character has though his need for external validation is within me as well. How that external validation becomes his sense of self-worth and then how that validation starts coming from within himself rather than from others’ opinions is a journey that I had to undertake for this character.

How different is your character Pratyush from Pratman, his social media avatar?

Pratyush is more like Babil. But Pratman is a brand that has been created.

Do things reach a stage in the film where Pratman is controlling Pratyush?

Hundred per cent. That is the film’s story — how his external validations become his self-love. From self-love, there comes empathy and how he starts living the relationships with his parents, with himself. When Pratyush realises he is not Pratman, from that point the validation he got from external sources stops and he tries to figure out how he sees himself as distinct from the image created.

Do you think this film will work as an alert for GeNext?

I hope so par mera yeh koi preach karne ka mudda nahin. I think the more I tell people what their takeaway from the film should be, it would limit the film. I would want them to see it and what they take away from it would depend on their individual journey. I don’t need to preach. I am here to work. If someone gets inspired by the film or learns from it, that will benefit the film and society at large. (Laughs)

Do you manage your own social media?

I do. Some stuff needs to be done to build your brand. But currently my screen time is zero. Without commerce, you cannot pursue the arts and raise funds. Social media is a platform where you can develop your brand. It is up to you how you develop it. But it has started giving me a lot of anxiety. I don’t indulge this anxiety. I just post and logout. I don’t scroll. If you do, that increases screen time.

These days actors are under pressure to stay in the public gaze. Is that what is causing the anxiety?

I am lucky to have a great team that understands me. Whatever is done happens organically. But I know other actors who are under pressure to ensure visibility as a compulsion. They cannot refuse but I can.

So you have an option to logout from public gaze?

Bilkul. Main logged out hi rahata hoon (laughs). I sometimes feel for my team. They are like my family — Mamma (Sutapa Sikdar), Ayaan (brother) and my external family comprises my team. I don’t respond to WhatsApp comments in that team. Sometimes I feel yaar ek heart emoji toh de de. Yet, switching the phone on causes me anxiety. But when I hug them I hope that warmth comes through.

So you don’t keep your phone switched on all the time?

Abhi bhi bandh hai. Kuchh der pehle khana order kar raha tha par ab pata nahin kidhar hai (laughs).

Some days ago, you put up a sensitive post about there being different facets in your life, about liking a rickshaw ride as much as in a Mercedes-Benz.

Actually I use my page as a space for creativity. I post poetry, music, memories, random thoughts... things that may inspire people. As the film shows, social media is not a problem in itself; how we use it can create a problem.

You recently posted a video of your father delivering a long monologue in a scene with Shah Rukh Khan in Billu. What memories do you have from the sets of his films?

I was very small. I remember the shoot with Shah Rukh Khan or the take with Lara (Dutta) ma’am. Main ped pe char jata tha. It would be hard to imagine someone was on a tree during those scenes (laughs). I used to feel very free Baba ke shooting pe.

Given that your father’s films are masterclasses in acting, do you revisit them now that you are in the same profession?

Even before I was an actor, I used to watch his films a lot. I didn’t know what I was losing when I lost him. He was my best friend. The pain of losing — woh alag hai. I try not to follow him as an actor. I am genetically so close to him, so I don’t want to end up mimicking him. I watch his films to be inspired, not to analyse his acting. He has taught me enough through life itself.

Ever since you debuted as Jagan in Qala, you have chosen your roles well.

I never chose those roles. The roles chose me. I have given so many, many auditions but the roles that came my way were the ones that life wanted me to meet. Once you meet your character it becomes like a relationship. You become a couple.

Do you stay in character between shots or do you logout?

There is not one specific process. It depends on the character. Like in Logout, I stayed in character even when I went home as I knew the story demanded that. Every character tells you how to play it. You do not play a character. If you take your fixed ideas and formulae to a character, you end up playing yourself more than you play that character. But if you listen to the character then it becomes a different process with every film. Every story, every character is a different journey. In some other film, I could even be chilling and making jokes as soon as the director says ‘cut’.

Have you been in that frame of mind in any of the films you have done so far?

In Qala, I was so scared that hearing ‘cut’ was more of a relief and I would immediately loosen up. I want to reach a state when ‘cut’ is not a relief anymore. The self-doubt was too much then. Now I still have self-doubt but it doesn’t overpower me. In those days, I thought I had done badly and might do even worse if I had to do the scene again. Now I think: “I haven’t done too badly but I can do better.” I must never think I have mastered the role. If I become satisfied, I will stop growing.