KJo admits to being guilty of nepotism

Koffee With Karan and sensationalism go hand in hand, just like its host, filmmaker Karan Johar's films and their star-studded ensemble. Johar has landed many celebrities in soup, in a fun way, with tricky questions and suggestive answers. But this year, Johar's candid verbal  duel with the unabashed and unapologetic queen of Bollywood,  Kangana Ranaut, went a bit too far, digging into one of the core issues in the film industry.

In an episode aired last month, the three-time national award winner Ranaut called a spade a spade and Johar, a “flag bearer of nepotism”—on his face. Though, Johar took it without batting an eyelid then, few days later, in a conversation with senior journalist Anupama Chopra in London, the 44-year-old defended himself saying that the actor does not understand the meaning of nepotism and that he has played 'godfather' to many new comers without a filmi background, and gave them a chance to make films. “I appreciate that she had a great, great perspective. Everyone lauded her because she came on my show and gave it back to me. I am like, ‘of course.’ Because I was gracious enough to keep everything. I could have edited so much — it is my show. I said, let the world know her opinion. This is what she thinks,” he told Chopra. He also accused Ranaut of playing the 'women card’ and 'victim card' repeatedly. Making a strong statement, he said: “You can’t be a victim at every point of time who has a sad story to say as to how you have been terrorised by the bad world of industry. If that’s the case, leave it."

However, the tables have turned in the nepotism debate once again, after a 2012 video of Johar surfaced where he openly admits to being guilty of nepotism. Five years ago, on Chopra's  show The Front Row, the ace filmmaker admitted that being Bollywood filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's daughter did give Alia Bhatt an edge over other 399 potential candidates who were screened for a role in 2012 film Student Of The Year . “And that is nepotism and I am guilty. I am definitely guilty,” he had said. Adding that if Varun Dhawan was not filmmaker David Dhawan's son, he may not have been on Johar's set as an assistant director and may not have got the break in his film. On the show, he said: "It's a lot to do with the fact that there are too many factors in this country that determine movie stardom. And I think true talent is the least of them. This is truly tragic. Would I have been a filmmaker? I'm a producer's son. I had no experience, I was an assistant on one film. My father had the platform to give me, therefore I'm a filmmaker. So if I go through any struggle, I deserve it."

Since Johar denied succumbing to nepotism during his chat with Chopra in London earlier this month, Bollywood has been divided on the issue. Hopefully, this video clip from 2012 should finally put the debate to rest. The video clip may not change much, but then there is a certain level of grace in accepting the truth and calling a spade a spade, just like Ranaut did.