Celebrities often choose to turn a blind eye to trolls instead of feeding them. Abhinav Shukla, too, had done the same in the past. However, last year, the actor was forced to approach the police against a troll, who had been targeting him and his female friends for a long time. The troll has now been traced by the Patiala Police and investigations are on.

Abhinav tells us, “I am relieved, more for the sake of my female friends, that the troll has been traced. For the past year, he had been targeting me and tagging all my female friends, family members, and acquaintances, especially those with verified accounts. His messages were nasty, vilifying and criminal in nature. He accused my female friends of having an affair with me, threatened to throw acid on them, and had them run over.”

Abhinav initially dismissed it as posts by just another upset social media user. However, he soon realised that things were getting out of hand after he started making multiple accounts to troll him. He says, “My friends brought it to my notice and asked me to take action. I didn’t pay much heed thinking that it was one of the hazards of being a celeb. However, I soon started to wonder who was so idle in life that he could troll me for a year non-stop like he was on a mission.”

That’s when Abhinav approached the Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch. He says, “I reported the matter to the Mumbai Cyber Crime Cell via a written complaint on their portal in May 2021 while I was in Cape Town for Khatron Ke Khiladi. I requested them to take cognisance of the online complaint followed by a written complaint, but they didn’t lodge an FIR. Sensing that time was of the essence, I registered a complaint in my hometown with the Patiala police on September 13 last year. They filed an FIR under sections 66 CE and 67A. The police have finally traced the person, who is a resident of Cuttack (Odisha). They questioned him and his family but his motive is still not clear. It could be a case of paid trolls, who may have been hired by someone who doesn’t like me and doesn’t want me to prosper. The police are investigating the case. I am relieved.”

Right after he got evicted from Bigg Boss 14, Abhinav Shukla left for Kolad, Maharashtra, to beat the fatigue. “I made a short trip to a friend’s farm. This was a much-needed break. I wanted to swim in the river and unwind in the lap of nature,” he tells us.

The actor, who is now back in Mumbai, says he is still getting used to life after Bigg Boss. “When I was inside, I was only communicating with my housemates, and now, suddenly I’m getting so many calls and messages and there’s so much happening on social media, thoda confuse ho raha hoon (laughs!). But I will adapt to it again anyway,” he says.

The last couple of weeks in the BB house were quite eventful for Abhinav. “Maine socha tha Ruby (Rubina Dilaik) aur main finale mein saath mein stage par honge and Salman sir will be holding our hands. I was a little upset because I was so close to the finale. But I guess it’s okay. The best part is that my fans didn’t vote me out,” he shares.

Abhinav was voted out by his co-contestants’ connections, who are currently in the house. While fans called his eviction unfair, the actor feels it’s a part of the game. “It is what it is, one can’t question the design of the game. You have to play it by the rules. There was a task and somebody had to go. Unfortunately, it was me. It’s a game and people get evicted, no hard feelings,” he says.

Abhinav and Rubina’s (aka Rubinav) relationship became the talk of the town when the latter revealed on the show that their marriage was on the brink of a divorce. Talking about it, he says, “Everything is fine now. There’s no divorce happening. The show made us stronger and strengthened our bond. When we were discussing the show before giving it a nod, I jokingly told Rubina that once you see the fights inside the BB house, you might forget the little fights we had. Jo tab humko badi lagti thi, woh actually bahut choti-choti ladaiyaan thi. During our stay in the house, we realised that we were making a fuss about minor issues. Now, when she comes out of the house, hopefully after the grand finale, we will look into our issues and resolve them.”

He adds, “I haven’t discussed our personal issues with our families yet. But I will talk about it, I am waiting for the right time. They are also very understanding, so there is no issue here.”

Ask him about his current equation with Jasmin Bhasin, and he says, “To cut a long story short, I don’t know Jasmin (pauses), I don’t know her anymore.” What about Rakhi Sawant? “Rakhi is very smart, she knows what she is doing. But whatever happened inside the house, I have left it there. I have no grudges against her, I will try to move on and erase that memory,” he says, adding, “I have made a few good friends — Naina Singh, Rahul Mahajan, Sara Gurpal — inside the house and will be in touch with them.”

Abhinav says that he is overwhelmed by the support he received, during his stint on the show. “Mujhe life mein itna appreciation, pyaar aur support kabhi nahi mila. This is the first time. I wasn’t expecting this, but I am very thankful,” he signs off.