I Don’t Judge Them For It

Months after announcing his divorce on X (formerly known as Twitter), Jayam Ravi talked about the public scrutiny over his personal life and the speculation around his divorce in an interview with Galatta Plus. In September, Jayam Ravi announced his divorce from Aarti. In a counter-post, Arti claimed the decision was made “without her consent”. When asked about how he reacts to people’s opinions about his divorce, Jayam Ravi said, “We are in a public medium. Anything I do gets elevated, even if it’s just me drinking tea. It is a mass medium; we are mass stars. So, be it good sense or bad sense, everything is highlighted, and we cannot avoid that. People like cinema, people like actors…talking about actors. So, I don’t judge them for it. Let it be.”

On being asked how he retains his calm when people talk about his personal life, Jayam Ravi said, “I need my body and mind to be clear for the sake of my work. I can’t teach people individual responsibility. Some mature people don’t do that (spread rumours). Other people don’t care about the intensity of the matter and breach my privacy. When I know about myself, why bother about what others say?”

Jayam Ravi mentioned in his note he hasn’t taken the decision of divorce in haste. He wrote, “After much thought, reflections and discussions, I have taken the difficult decision to proceed with the dissolution of marriage with Aarti. This decision was not made out of haste and it stems from personal reasons that I believe are in the best interests of everyone involved.”

An excerpt from Arti’s note read, “For some time, I have sought several opportunities to speak directly with my husband, hoping to have an open dialogue in a manner that honours the commitment we made to one another and to our family. Sadly, that opportunity was not afforded to me, leaving both my children and me completely blindsided by this announcement. The decision to walk out of our marriage is purely one sided and does not benefit our family.”

Jayam Ravi, son of veteran film editor A Mohan, is known for films such as Jayam, Daas, Mazhai, Bommarillu, Peranmai, Romeo Juliet, Bhoomi and Siren. For the unversed, Aarti is the daughter of television producer Sujatha Vijayakumar. Jayam Ravi and Arti are parents to two sons, Aarav and Ayaan.