Karan Johar shocked the internet when he announced that the ongoing ninth instalment would be the last season of his chat show, Koffee with Karan. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, he blamed it on a multitude of reasons — from struggling to get more time as a filmmaker to celebrities not being open to speaking candidly on the Koffee couch. He also confessed that the toughest controversy on his talk show to come back from was when cricketers KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya appeared on the show during its sixth season.
“What happened with Hardik and Rahul was terrifying for me. I’m not an avid cricket watcher. I’m one of those who follows film passionately, but never watches cricket. But I started watching every match Hardik and Rahul were playing because I was rooting so hard that I hoped the boys were okay. I feel personally responsible every time it happens,” Johar said in the interview.
Hailing Hardik and Rahul as “national heroes” and “national icons,” the host said they potentially ran the risk of losing their “profile, job, and reputation” even when the country was rooting for them. “They were on my show, and they landed in a mess to the extent that every time I go to a party, the cricketers run away from me because of what I’ve done on that show. I say that in jest. Everyone’s rather kind, actually,” quipped Karan.
He also admitted that there’ll always be a “sense of trauma bonding in the DNA” of him, Hardik, and Rahul. “They’re great boys, and have done so well even after. But I can’t tell you; I was traumatised. I really went on and on, feeling if it’s even worth it. Should I be doing this at all? I questioned myself so deeply during that period,” confessed Karan.
But it took him three more seasons and seven more years to finally pull down the curtain on Koffee with Karan, which debuted 22 years ago back in 2004 on Star World. Over the years, it migrated to Star’s OTT platform JioHotstar, but instead of getting more unhinged — as is the case with many streaming shows — it only got more and more curtailed thanks to the changing dynamics between celebrities, PR, and social media.
What went wrong with Hardik and Rahul’s episode?
Hardik and Rahul were the only cricketers who shared the Koffee couch. During the Rapid Fire segment, they, particularly Hardik, made explicit jokes about their relationships and casual hookups. That invited the ire of the internet, who dubbed their conduct on the episode misogynistic and inappropriate.
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The backlash wasn’t limited to the virtual realm, and even spilled into real life with tangible consequences. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) suspended both cricketers immediately, and even launched an inquiry into their misconduct. It was only after they apologised that their suspension was revoked. The episode was also taken down from JioHotstar, as a result.