Veteran actor Paresh Rawal: no one has ever spoken his words. While his acclaimed performances have earned him a lot of respect over the decades, his outspoken views on social media have always landed him in controversy. Looking back on those moments, the actor admitted that his outspoken online presence did more harm than good. In a recent conversation, Paresh opened up about his anger, expressed regret for many of his tweets, and revealed that his habit of joining Twitter has affected his health.Talking about his character, Paresh said in an interview with Vickey Lalwani, “Look, I don’t take anything from anyone. I don’t want to put anyone down. I am not driven by greed. No matter what I have, I feel that God has given me more than enough. So I’m not selfish. Why would I do that to someone? That’s why I’m frank and honest with everyone.”The actor also recounted an old incident where he admitted to hitting an audience member during a stage performance. Calling his behavior “idiotic”, he said he deeply regrets the loss of control. “That incident when I talked about slapping someone… what happened was because they made passing remarks. There was comment after comment, even from other actors. It became banter, and then I was taken away. It was stupid. I jumped at it. I was really wrong. It happened, but I won’t repeat it. I’m sorry. I really am. An artist must have control over themselves and the circumstances.”Reflecting on his controversial activity on social media, Paresh acknowledged that one of his most criticized tweets – addressed by the author Arundhati Roy — should never have been posted. “Yes, I wrote it. I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have said that.”He revealed that he has now distanced himself from Twitter a lot because of the damage it has done to his mental and physical well-being. “I almost stopped using Twitter now because it harms my health a lot. In fact, my blood pressure has increased. My doctor clearly told me: don’t watch news channels before going to bed, and don’t read newspapers until noon after waking up. If there is any important news you need to know, you will find it. You don’t have to sit there and make yourself over everything.”The actor admits that he, too, has a role in contributing to the negativity that is often associated with social media. “A lot of people treat social media like their personal dumping grounds, and I’m equally responsible for that. People write whatever is on their mind because they have a platform. No one is listening, so you just type. I never abuse people. My sarcasm is very sharp. I will not stop using foul language. But even with that sarcasm, I shouldn’t indulge. There’s too much negativity and toxicity out there.”Paresh also took a dig at his criticism of film critic Anupama Chopra in her review of ‘Dhurandhar’. While he stands by his belief that the film deserves a more balanced discussion, he says that criticism should always be constructive. “I feel Dhurandhar is a well-made film. Some people like it, some don’t, which is perfectly fine. But then write about it. Offer constructive criticism. That’s how it should be. Not the other way around. That’s what I feel is wrong.”Explaining why he referred to Chopra as “Miss Irrelevant” in his post, the actor added, “Yes, but the truth is, nobody is really listening to what you have to say. You can write whatever you want, and it hardly changes anything. Instead, it became a bandwagon. Well, they did their job, that’s okay.”When asked about the online abuse and threats Chopra reportedly received after her tweet went viral, Paresh strongly condemned such behaviour. “That’s wrong. You can’t treat someone like that. She’s a woman, you know. She’s an educated, cultured woman. She’s Vikram Chandra’s sister, for God’s sake.”He also recalled the grace shown by the two Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Anupama Chopra after the controversy, revealed that they later came to speak about the work of his son, actor. Aditya Rawal.Paresh Rawal was recently seen in ‘Bhoot Bangla’.