- Kangana Ranaut revisited her 2017 remarks about Karan Johar on a recent ANI podcast
- She described Karan Johar as proudly superficial and flashy but not a bad person
- Kangana called out past instances of being mocked by Karan Johar before their 2017 episode
Almost a decade after Kangana Ranaut's infamous jibe at Karan Johar on his show, Koffee With Karan, the BJP MP revisited the chapter and shared her thoughts on one of the most influential directors of the Hindi film industry.
During a recent chat on the ANI podcast, Kangana Ranaut said that she doesn't think Karan Johar is a bad person.
'He's just proudly superficial, flecky, flashy,' Kangana described him with these words.
Asked whether she had made peace with him, Kangana said, "I have made peace with him. I don't think Karan Johar is a bad person. He's just proudly superficial, flecky, flashy. He likes that. He's proud of that. He has an amazing sense of humour. He has that kind of attitude, 'You can sit with us'. But I don't think I have a problem with him as such."
What Happenes On Koffee With Karan Doesn't Stay At Koffee With Karan
Back in February 2017, Kangana appeared on Koffee With Karan Season 5 alongside Saif Ali Khan to promote Rangoon.
During the conversation, Kangana directly called out Karan Johar as the "flagbearer of nepotism" and told him to his face, "In my biopic, if it is ever made, you will play this stereotypical Bollywood biggie who is very snooty and completely intolerant to outsiders... I like the antagonist in you in my biopic."
Kangana's comments became the rage back then and started a conversation insider vs outsider that refuses to die down even after a decade.
Why Should I Pretend?
Asked if her comments on the show were scripted, Kangana said, "I think, listen. Kya hota hai na jaise maine aapko kaha ki ek waqt hota hai jab aapko lagta hai ki you want to fit in. Aur ek waqt hai when you are standing out. You are already standing out, why do you want to fit in then? People who kept dismissing me. Aapne woh show toh dekha par lekin usse pahle show mein unhone mere muh pe, mere kapdo ka mazak udaya, meri English ka mazak udaya. Maine unke saath ek film bhi ki thi jisme jo kahani thi usme mujhe ekdum hi alag side mein wala role de diya (Before that episode, he made fun of my dressing sense, my English accent. I have done a film with him in which I was sidelined)."
She went on to explain how those repeated experiences shaped her response on the show.
"Toh ek tarah se jo jo humare experiences hote hain, hum sochte hain ki, ek hadd tak aapko lagta hai ki humein sabke saath, mil jul kar chalna chahiye. Lekin jab woh ek hi tarfa hamesha hota hai, aap ki prayaas jab hota hai, toh phir usme ek time aata hai ki mera ghar ye toh chala nahi rahe. Inki wajah se main successful nahi hu. Inka bas agar chale and I can tell that, they will wipe me from the face of the earth, totally, you should not exist only. That kind of PR, that kind of maligning, those kind of cases they put on me, those kind of ganging up happened. So when that kind of situation happened toh main kyun pretend karu? Why should I pretend and make them look good? (You think, you will be at peace with people. But if the effort is always one-sided, you feel like they don't run your home)."
'I Am Done With Kangana'
"I am done with Kangana playing the woman and victim card. I am DONE! You cannot be this victim at every given point of time who has a sad story to tell about how you've been terrorised by the bad world of the industry leave it," Karan Johar said in an interview years ago.
In terms of work, Kangana was last seen in Emergency (2025).