Speculations are rife about Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan's 'rare disease' tweet. And everybody is slamming the media, as indeed fans in general, for fueling uncalled for guesswork over the 51-year-old star's health woes. From blood cancer to brain tumor, every disease has been discussed at length, even if Khan has mentioned categorically that the accurate diagnosis will be confirmed within 10 days from the moment he revealed that he is battling with a 'rare' medical condition. All Irrfan needs during these trying times are the prayers and the wishes from his admirers, but we feel the actor himself should have been a little more careful with his words.

In this day and age when everything gets blown out of proportion on social media, Irrfan should have been more responsible. Was there a need to share the half-baked information in the first place? Khan could have possibly waited for the next couple of weeks as the much needed confirmatory diagnosis was not made yet. It was only a given that every Tom, Dick and Harry would come up with his medical trial, speculation or even an  expert advice , the moment Irrfan decided to Tweet about his ailment.

While we understand that Khan wanted to share with everyone the fact that he will remain out of action for sometime. Given his stature in the industry, nobody would have question his absence for a little while. Even if we argue that he posted the aforementioned tweet fearing that the media could come up with conspiracy theories, had they smelled  his health concerns, it is surprising that the actor himself announced his condition without any clarity, which in turn generated inquisitiveness.

Irrfan on Monday left his fans concerned about their favourite star’s health as he wrote, “Sometimes you wake up with a jolt with life-shaking you up. The last 15 days, my life has been a suspense story. Little had I known that my search for rare stories would make me find a rare disease.” These words carry a lot of mystery in them. There's a hint of (unintentional) drama involved in the tweet which sparked curiosity and conjectures in equal measures.

It is pertinent to note that  Khan has an unmatched fan following the globe over. His admirers respect and even revered his body of work as indeed they respect the talent he has been blessed with, and honed over the years. It was only natural for everybody to be curious about Khan's condition. Some were even anxious and worried for the talent extraordinaire.

PS: The intention of this post is not to criticize the actor, but to urge everyone to exercise discretion especially when you are a public figure.  One post on social media without clarity means you are only going to create and widen the scope for incessant and uncalled for guesswork.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 10, 2018 01:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).