Imran Off Twitter

Actor signs off from the micro-blogging site, many celebs have begun to reject it as well, citing privacy issues

For over a year now, many Bollywood actors have used Twitter to make an announcement, promote their movies, and interact with fans. But seems like all that communication is getting to them, so much so that the frequency with which most stars have been tweeting have reduced considerably. On Wednesday, Imran Khan quit the micro-blogging site for good, few days before the promotion of his forthcoming film, Break Ke Baad, was scheduled to begin.



Interestingly, it was Karan Johar who had got Khan to sign up, just before the shot of their movie, I hate Luv Storys. Recalling the moment the registered, the actor says, "I signed up because I saw it as a way to interact with my audience at a personal level. I've always looked for ways to do that, whether it was through online chats or live events." However, of late, he had begun to fee that this was not the right medium for him.

A friend of the actor says his reason for opting out was the "intrusive" nature of the site: "while it allows a two-way communication with the fans, it also requires him to be constantly in touch with them. People tend to discuss everything and often ask a lot of personal questions. That also got to him beyond a point."

On being probed, Khan maintains that he didn't want to give out an impression that he was upset or angry about anything. He says, "I enjoyed having the chance to reach out to so many people out there and truly appreciate all the love and support I received all this while. I hope that this continues even though I won't be tweeting any more." He adds, "It has been a loot of fun and I'm thankful to everyone for all the good times. I think what it boils down to, is that I just don't feel Twitter is right for me."

It is also learnt that several other Bollywood top stars are contemplating quitting the micro-blogging site, though no one's made an official announcement yet. Fake profiles, profiles, personal questions posed, and persistent fans are being cited as reasons for an apparent decline in Bollywood tweets. Looks like, the public one-stop celebrity press conference is in trouble then.

OTHER CELEBS WHO REJECTED TWITTER

LARA DATTA: A victim of Twitter stalking. Datta reduced her Twitter frequency, before she got back online. "I don't want any hate message on my Twitter account. This is blatant harassment," she said.

JAIDEEP SAHNI: Thinks it's overrated. "Like a lot of people, I registered myself long time back, but never used it," he said

LINDSAY LOHAN: Lindsay was into tweeting and washing dirty linen in public left Twitter the day she was sent to jail.

MILEY CYRUS: Forced to quit because of the hate mails she was receiving following her tweet over gay marriages.

JOHN MAYER: Was one an addict, the singer was even dumped by Jennifer Aniston who complained that Mayer spent too much time tweeting. However, for the past few months, Mayer has been quite reticent and hasn't tweeted a word in over a month.

SAIF ALIKHAN: Never joined Twitter because he can't keep to figure out how people make time for social networking sites. I'm not on Twitter."