Many Liberals outraged after Mumbai police filed FIR against AIB host Tanmay Bhatt for applying a dog filter on a Narendra Modi lookalike. Now the same people are disappointed over Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan and Saif Ali Khan’s joke at Kangana Ranaut’s nepotism remark. Hypocrisy? To uninitiated, Varun, Karan and Saif Ali Khan recently cracked a joke at Kangana during the recently held IIFA 2017 in New York. We wonder why so much offensiveness over a joke that was all for laughter?(Also Read: KJo, Saif and Varun Dhawan Mocked Kangana Ranaut Chanting ‘Nepotism Rocks’ At IIFA)
Well, Karan Johar, Varun, and Saif have come publicly and apologized for mocking Kangana and nepotism. After receiving a lot of flak on social media, the trio chose different platforms to express their apology and clarify over the same.
Here’s what Varun Dhawan tweeted:
I express my apology and regret .. I am extremely sorry if I have offended or hurt anyone with that act..
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) July 18, 2017
Talking to NDTV, Here’s what Karan Johar pledged:
“Of course I don’t believe that ‘nepotism rocks’. Of course, I believe that only talent rocks. If anything that rocks, it’s your talent, hard work and conviction. It’s the energy you bring to your job. What we said was meant to be a joke, which I think has been misplaced, misunderstood and I think it went wrong. I regret it.”
Karan further admitted that it was his idea to joke about it. “The idea of that joke was entirely mine, so I take onus of the idea of what we said. And I think we went a bit too far with the Kangana mention,” he said.
The filmmaker further continued saying, “No matter what I say or feel about my issues with what Kangana said on my talk show Koffee With Karan, I think I was raised to be a dignified, a chivalrous, and a decent person. That’s the upbringing that I was given and I feel that I failed on those accounts. I felt that no matter what my thoughts or personal issues on this, I should not have repeatedly brought that up. For that, I’m deeply regretful.”
In his last word, Karan requested everyone to end the chapter of nepotism. The director says, “I want to once and for all say and close this chapter after this and subsequently I will not speak about nepotism nor Kangana because it would be distrustful for her and it would be ungraceful at my end, which I’ve already been. Nepotism is easy access, nobody can deny that, but what you do with that access is what moulds you into a professional.”
Here’s what Saif Ali Khan has to say on mocking his Rangoon co-star Kangana Ranaut:
“I respect Kangana tremendously for what she’s achieved, for coming up the hard way. We’re a mutual admiration society. She also agrees that despite having illustrious parents, I too have had an uneven beginning in Bombay. I understand what Kangana means by her stance on nepotism, though I have a slightly different take on it. People knew who I was because of my parents but that didn’t necessarily give me an easy ride. Look at the spate of terrible movies I’ve starred in and you know that phase lasted for a long while.
I am generally perceived as being a very privileged person and I probably am; the reality of it is also that growing up in Pataudi and Bhopal isn’t what people think it is. We are privileged also in terms of getting an opportunity to meet a producer, which in itself is an advantage. But beyond that, only your talent can sustain you. There are also many star kids who are actors and directors who people aren’t so interested in because they perhaps lack the talent.”
Saif Ali Khan added, “It’s easy to confuse nepotism with genetics. Maybe there is something in the genes too that makes many of Raj Kapoor’s descendants actors or Pataudis cricketers. I think it’s actually eugenics and genetics that’s coming into play.
Because of way things are in India, it seems to be the choice job with the youth. So every single kid including my own wants a six-pack and the works, and wants to join Bollywood. It’s a questionable ambition beyond a point that this is all that people want to do. I wish our children would also consider careers in law or medicine or any other field.
Whatever it may be, this privileged versus the unaffiliated leads to a great deal of unfairness. Nepotism is also not to be confused with campism. What Kangana might be talking about is that people generally promote their own people. Which is disturbing but not that much different from the studio system where say a Universal or a Paramount promotes their lot. It’s actually business. Nepotism is Donald Trump putting his son at the helm of things instead of someone more suited for the job.
There are so many unequal opportunities in India today, no wonder then that people view us as being super privileged. Bollywood is a free market at its most brutal and nepotism can heighten that.”
To conclude Saif said, “Nevertheless, to me at IIFA it was just a joke and nothing more to be read into. But now I feel had we given it more thought, we could’ve really finished this ongoing public discourse on nepotism more decisively.”
After openly making fun of Kangana on the IIFA stage, do you think she will let it go? Only time will tell!
