Social media is one of the quickest ways for opinions to spread today, but it is also a place where conversations can turn unpleasant very fast. Over the last day, a discussion that began around a simple personal choice ended up drawing strong reactions from a section of users on X.
Actor and director Rahul Ravindran recently shared that he had told his wife, Chinmayi Sripaada, that wearing a mangalsutra is a personal decision and not something that determines whether a woman is married. Another user expressed a similar opinion, saying women should have the freedom to decide what symbols they want to follow in their personal lives. These comments were enough to trigger a heated response from a group of Telugu-speaking users who held an X space to oppose the views.
What started as a debate over tradition soon drifted away from the topic. Some participants began passing personal remarks about both women, questioning their intentions and beliefs. As the discussion intensified, one participant made a particularly disturbing comment about children born to people who share such views. The clip of that remark was widely shared, drawing more attention to how the conversation had derailed.
After the clip reached her, Chinmayi responded publicly and tagged VC Sajjanar, Commissioner of the Hyderabad City Police. He acknowledged her post and said the matter would be examined. Reactions on X stayed divided, with some users calling out the extreme comments and others continuing to argue over the larger debate on tradition and personal freedom.
This incident once again shows how quickly online conversations can escalate and how easily they shift from a topic to the people involved in it. Whether this leads to any official action or a rethink on how online behaviour is handled is something that will become clear only in the coming days.