Karan Johar on Drug Controversy: Will Take Legal Route Next Time

Karan Johar reacted to Kalank’s failure and the drug controversy.

Karan Johar reacted to the drug controversy.

(Photo: Instagram)

Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar, in an interview with Rajeev Masand, has opened up about the recent controversy where celebrities at his house party were accused of consuming drugs. In the interview, the filmmaker spoke about why he didn’t find it necessary to put out any statement earlier and called the accusations “baseless”.

“Apparently, you’re not allowed to scratch your nose, you’re not allowed to put your phone in your back pocket, and a shadow of light is perceived to be some kind of a powder. My mother lives 10 metres away from that hall. Am I stupid to put out a video if something like this is happening? It was a social gathering where friends were having good conversations and my mother was sitting with us just 10 minutes before this video was taken,” said Karan about the drug controversy.

The list of celebrities in the infamous video included Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Arjun Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, among others.

Vicky, Deepika and  Ayan at Karan Johar’s party.(Photo Courtesy: Instagram Screengrab)

The reason I didn’t put out any statement is because I thought why do I need to justify a house party that was a casual get together of good friends having a good conversational time. The next time there are baseless accusations, I will be taking the legal route, because this is ridiculous. You cannot mar our solid reputations, just because you are presuming something.

Karan Johar

He added, “Vicky (Kaushal) was recovering from dengue. These baseless accusations really annoy me, because you’re taking away from the kind of culture and tradition that I’ve been raised in. My mother was appalled when she read all of this.”

“Kalank was heartbreaking,” says Karan Johar

Kalank’s failure is something the filmmaker has been deeply affected by. Confessing that the failure was heartbreaking, he said, “The person responsible for Kalank is me and no one else, I was the leader of that team. I think I got carried away with the film, and when Abhishek Verman had the idea of a palette that he wanted to give it and a certain vision, I was so sucked into that world that I lost complete objectivity. I gave everybody unnecessary wings to fly. That film had commendable talent with Abhishek Verman, Alia, Varun, Sonakshi, Aditya, Sanju and Madhuri. I could have just helmed the film better.”

Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in a still from Kalank.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

“This film is something I think I can never recover from. There was a lot of beauty in the story, in Abhishek’s screenplay but I think I got so carried away that I kept asking him to go bigger, go wider. With all the grandeur, color and opulence, we lost the nuance of the narrative.”

Karan Johar on <i>Kalank’s </i>failure

The filmmaker also spoke about his upcoming directorial Takht, starring Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Jahnvi Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Anil Kapoor.

“I have always been intrigued by history and the Mughal era. Somen Mishra, who heads our project development, he told me that Sumit Roy, who is the screenplay writer of Takht now, has a story about a character that I should look at. He gave me the story and when I started researching on it more, I thought that this is the Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham of the Mughal era. So, it is a family drama. If Takht works, it will be a writer’s victory,” said Karan Johar.