Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Fawad Khan (don’t say that out loud) got roped in a huge controversy before its release. The members of Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI) decided to boycott Pakistani artists from working in Bollywood because of the Uri attacks that had happened around that time.
However, after all the ballyhoo, the film got a green signal from the Censor Board and successfully released. Based on the concept of unrequited love, the film left many teary-eyed when they stepped out of the cinema halls. And it won a lot of awards and accolades.
But looks like Karan, controversy’s favourite child lately, has landed himself in trouble over Ae Dil Hai Mushkil three years after its release. In a recent interview with a media portal, Karan spoke about how he might want to change something or the other about some of his films, but nothing about Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. He said, “When I made this film, I felt that this should make Rs 100 crore. I wanted the film to make its money back, which it did and was declared a good film. Yes, the last track met with many polarised responses and rightfully so, but I was like she (Anushka Sharma’s character Alizeh who doesn’t reciprocate Ayan’s feelings) didn’t love him, she has to die.”
On being asked if he was punishing Alizeh for not reciprocating Ayan’s romantic feelings, Karan said, “Well, she got punished, I wrote it. See, a filmmaker is a God, you write, you create and you destroy.”
This irked many on Twitter and Karan was slammed for being insensitive and saying such problematic things.
Here’s what the Twitterati said:
Karan Johar saying he killed off Alizeh in ADHM because she didn’t love Ayan and chalking it off as karma is disgusting because we still live in a day and age where women are constantly attacked or killed for not reciprocating feelings and we are NOT going to romanticize that
— sai (@Saisailu97) January 24, 2019
Point is, a writer has all creative freedom to put his story into words. But when you go and talk about it in an interview claiming it was right cos she spurned his true love, imagine what the girls who had acid thrown on them by guys who truly loved them would feel now?
— Vikram Gadgil (@VikramVG) January 24, 2019
I have long said that KJo is the real life Ayaan, cruel to the end in his love which he also uses to self-aggrandize his own mystique.
— (((Dominique))) (@AbbakkaHypatia) January 24, 2019
Well Bollywood has been responsible for generations of guys harassing women in the name of “love”. We must stop idolising these businessmen who claim to be storytellers.
— Utkarsh Mathur (@TheRealUtkarsh) January 24, 2019
It may be his script, it may be his characters, but his ridiculous remarks on how a ‘woman’ should be punished if she doesn’t reciprocate a man’s love is disturbing. The filmmaker should really weigh his words and think before he talks. High time!
I wonder what Anushka Sharma has to say about this.
POPxo is now available in six languages: English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bangla.
AWESOME NEWS! POPxo SHOP is now Open! Get 25% off on all the super fun mugs, phone covers, cushions, laptop sleeves, and more! Use coupon code POPXOFIRST. Online shopping for women never looked better!
