Talking point

After sparking a controversy with his nepotism debate at the  IIFA Awards in New Jersey over the weekend, filmmaker Karan Johar, actors Saif Ali Khan and Varun Dhawan received flak on social media.

Karan and Saif, who were hosting the gala, revisited the issue when Kangana Ranaut branded Karan as a ‘flagbearer of nepotism’ on his chat show.

When Varun joined the two actors on the stage to receive the ‘Best Performance in a Comic Role’ for Dishoom, Saif joked that the actor had made it big in the industry because of his father, director David Dhawan. “You are here because of your papa,” Saif quipped. Varun said: “And you’re here because of your mummy (veteran actress Sharmila Tagore).” Karan then promptly added: “I am here because of my papa (late filmmaker Yash Johar).” They then said in unison: “Nepotism rocks”.

On Twitter, a string of criticism followed, describing what the personalities said as unfunny and joking about actress Kangana Ranaut in her absence. 

In February this year, Kangana had called Karan Johar ‘intolerant’ towards outsiders and a ‘flag bearer of nepotism’ on his popular talk show “Koffee With Karan”. — IANS