Back in 2012, Karan Johar launched two-star kids and one outsider in Student of the Year. Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Sidharth Malhotra have moved on in their careers today, and each of them have attained the success they set out for. Karan, who has been repeatedly accused of being the torchbearer of nepotism, has often been questioned for launching star kids, in this context, particularly Alia Bhatt.
During an interview with Galatta Plus, Karan expressed his frustration with the relentless Nepotism debate. He also slammed trolls who call Alia a "nepo kid."
Karan said, "That's not true. Please come and look at our roster. Have you seen Highway, Udta Punjab, Raazi, and Gangubai? Just look at her filmography. If you're still calling her a nepo kid, then you've got to be the most idiotic person on this planet and no one can help you."
Karan has often been put in a tight spot for favouring or defending Alia for that matter. However, the filmmaker has always pressed on the fact that he shares a very close bond with Alia.
In an older interview with ETimes, Karan had said, "She's the first person I felt parental about. She's the first person I felt like I had a parental instinct for. I love her and the country knows she's one of our finest actors. I have a tremendous amount of love, respect, and admiration and I'm allowed to say what I want about her. So, if I cry at her good news and I really feel good then I'm allowed to. I'm like a parent to her. Why should I be pretending for optics? I genuinely love her and I want to say it all the time."
On the work front, Alia Bhatt is currently busy shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Love & War with Vicky Kaushal and Ranbir Kapoor.