If you are a Bollywood fanatic who religiously follows the social-media accounts of the stars, then you already know that one of the recent trending conversations was the open spat between Ajay Devgn and Karan Johar.
The obvious reason was the impending box-office clash between Ajay's Shivaay and Karan's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Plus there was the hot topic of the proposed ban on Pakistani artistes in Bollywood, which found both of them on opposing sides of the debate.
And that seemed to be the final nail on the coffin of what was once the warmest friendships in Bollywood. We are talking about BFF's Kajol and Karan Johar.
This seemed like the perfect time to look back at one of Bollywood's most famous friendships. So today, SpotboyE.com met a close friend of Kajol, who lamented the demise of the days when Karan and Kajol were inseparable.
They met in 1995 when Karan was an assistant on Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge which starred Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.
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The trio became the best of friends when the future Mrs Devgn agreed to star in Karan's debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998. And soon duo were seemingly joined at the hip.
Kajol became a regular in all of Karan's movies, be it Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham or My Name Is Khan. Karan believed that Kajol was his lucky charm and even got her to do a cameo in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and his 2012 film Student Of The Year starring Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra.
The duo knew everything about each other's lives and were snapped together at all the filmi parties. They were so thick that Kajol spent hours with Karan at the Khar offices of Dharma Productions . From making a pit stop to use his restroom, to scheduling meetings with other producers at his office, Kajol felt secure with Karan by her side.
"It’s sad that the comfort level disappeared with time and a few unfortunate incidents," Kajol’s friend said.
The friend revealed that the duo's equation went sour following a row and interestingly Ajay was at the centre of it. Ajay reportedly confronted Karan over the phone about rumours which claimed that the filmmaker was bad-mouthing him behind his back.
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The allegation was vehemently denied by Karan but Ajay was not appeased. Kajol chose to side with her husband which made matters worse.
Things started getting uglier with time. By 2012, after her cameo in Student Of The Year, Karan and Kajol were rarely spotted together. The parties and get-togethers vanished, Karan had a new circle to hang out with. Kajol stopped visiting him.
As of today, Ajay himself agrees that there is no relationship to maintain between the two (Karan and him). In an exclusive chat with SpotboyE.com, Ajay confessed that he is not worried about his relationship with Karan going sour due to Shivaay and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’s clash at the box office this Diwali.
(Click on the above image to watch the interview)
Ajay also made it clear that Kajol has moved on from the friendship when he said in another interview: “I am not friends with him (Karan). Even Kajol’s equation is not as warm as it was. It is a personal issue… not due to any professional thing. It’s a personal hurtful feeling. It has nothing to do with the clash.”
As far as Kajol is concerned, she has always taken Ajay’s side. She recently took a trip to the US with him to promote the Devgn production Shivaay overseas. It was clear that she was making a firm statement about her allegiances.
Not just this, when Ajay criticised Karan and Shah Rukh Khan for speaking up against the ban on Pakistani artistes, Kajol came out in full support of her husband.
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She made her stance loud and clear as she wrote on her Twitter account, "So proud of my husband for taking a non political and absolutely correct stand.”
Ajay had clearly stated that in times when bullets are being exchanged between India and Pak, there cannot be a cultural exchange and said that he won't work with Pakistani actors even if his films don't release in the neighbouring country.
You may recall that Ajay had recently posted an audio tape conversation between Kamaal R Khan and Kumar Mangat claiming that Karan paid KRK 25 lakh to rundown his film, Shivaay (Video: The Ugly Fight- Ajay Devgn V/S KRK, Sep 2).
So what is the current equation between Karan and Kajol?
"Well, if they bump into each other, Kajol would at the most just say ‘Hi’ and as far as Ajay is concerned, he can’t stand Karan," Kajol's friend told us with a sigh.
Thumbnail Image Source: Manav Manglani