When Zoya Akhtar blasted Karan Johar for liking a film about stalking, considering it ‘pyaar’: ‘Because you are stupid’

Karan Johar recently shared how Zoya Akhtar schooled him about the concept of stalking, and Shabana Azmi got offended with the gender politics he had shown in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Karan Johar reveals Zoya Akhtar blasted him over liking a film about stalking (Photos: Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar / Instagram)

In 2023, Karan Johar returned to the big screens as director after his 7-year-long hiatus with Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. The film starred Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles, it also starred Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi, and Jaya Bachchan in important roles. The film saw phenomenal success at the box office only to win Karan Johar a lot of praise. Recently while talking to the Times Of India, Karan revealed that the gender politics in his latest film stem from his ‘personal politics’, he even shared how it was Zoya Akhtar who made him aware of the concept of stalking.

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A post shared by Karan Johar (@karanjohar)

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Karan shared that Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani came very easily to him because of his personal politics that have evolved over the years. Karan Johar even admitted that his film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji had ‘flawed’ gender politics. Admitting that he was not very evolved back then, Karan also shared how he learned about the concept of stalking after Zoya Akhtar fired him one day.

Recalling that incident, he shared that he once loved a film that was predominantly about stalking because he thought that was pyaar, but later he saw Zoya Akhtar shivering and asked her what was wrong because he loved the film. That is when she called him stupid and fired him. Later while driving back home Zoya asked him to change the way he thought and educated him about the concept of stalking.

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A post shared by Shabana Azmi (@azmishabana18)

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Karan Johar also shared that the skewed gender politics he had shown in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had also led to Shabana Azmi blasting him. He even mentioned that while Shabana was offended by the gender politics in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, she didn’t doubt the politics in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. KJo also shared that during the film the only non-negotiable condition he had for Shabana was that she had to look prim and proper at all times, he had asked her to wear hair and makeup even when she was distraught.

In the same conversation, Karan also opened up about often being a victim of preconceived notions.

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