Is Karan Johar A Flagbearer Of Nepotism And Movie Mafia?

If we go by Karan Johar’s autobiography, Koffee with Karan is a chat show which is ‘irreverent and full of fun banter’. After the Saif-Kangana episode fiasco, it seems the show is far from being irreverent and fun banters also carry some truth to it. The concerned episode saw Kangana dubbing the filmmaker a movie mafia and flag bearer of nepotism.

Now as the old saying goes – haath kangan ko aarsi kya - we at Spotboye.com decided to check Kangana’s accusation hurled at Karan and if they have some merit of truth. The parameter we employed was pretty simple. We checked the background of directors and actors who made their debut with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. It was only after the death of Yash Johar that Karan Johar took the reigns of Dharma Productions and at that time Kal Ho Naa Ho was under production so we will start with Kal Ho Naa Ho.


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Nikhil Advani – Nikhil made his directorial debut with Kal Ho Naa Ho and had previously assisted Karan during the making of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Nikhil is also the grand nephew of late NN Sippy and second cousin of Ekta Kapoor and Tusshar Kapoor.

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Soham Shah – Soham Shah made his debut film for Dharma Production and his Kaal remains the only horror film (possibly the last too) in Dharma’s filmography. Earlier he had assisted Karan on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho. The intermittent phase also allowed him to hone his skill in the company of Ram Gopal Varma. He has no blood relations in the industry.

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Tarun Mansukhani – Tarun has been part of Karan’s coterie even when he was assisting Aditya Chopra for DDLJ. It was the troika of Tarun, Nikhil and Karan that gave the narration to Shah Rukh Khan for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He assisted Karan during the making of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna.


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Ayan Mukerji – Ayan is son of actor Deb Mukerji and director Ashutosh Gowariker’s wife Sunita is his half-sister. Ayan is also Kajol’s first cousin and Rani’s second cousin. Apart from assisting Karan during the filming of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kahna, Ayan also helped Ashutosh during the making of Swades.


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Rensil D’Silva – Rensil made his debut film Kurbaan for Dharma that featured Saif and Kareena for the first time. Kurbaan failed to make any splash at the box office and his second opportunity Ungli had a fate worse than Kurbaan. Rensil was hand picked by Karan after having showed his mettle in writing films like Aks and Rang De Basanti. Rensil has no relatives in Bollywood.


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Punit Malhotra – I Hate Luv Storys was Punit Malhotra’s debut feature. Prior to making of this film, he assisted Karan on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho. He is also related to the Dhawan’s family as Varun is his second cousin which makes director David Dhawan his uncle. He is also nephew of Karan’s best friend Manish Malhotra.


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Sidharth Malhotra – The responsibility to direct We Are Family was bestowed on Sidharth by Karan. Not many know that he is son of Bollywood actor Prem Kishan which in turn makes legendary villain Prem Nath as his grandpa. He is also nephew to Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor.


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Karan Malhotra – Karan Malhotra gave a 100 Cr gift to Karan Johar with his debut film Agneepath. Earlier, apart from assisting Karan on My Name is Khan, he had honed his filmmaking skills during the making of films like Mai Hoon Na, Lakshya and Pukar. He is son of producer Ravi Malhotra. In the seventies, Ravi had produced blockbusters like Khel Khel Mein and Jhootha Kahin Ka with Rishi Kapoor. He was also a production controller with the famed RK Films.


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Shakun Batra – Before making Ek Mai Aur Ekk Tu, Shakun was part of Excel Entertainment and assisted during the making of Rock On. He also assisted for Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa.


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Sonam Nair – Sonam Nair assisted Ayan Mukerji during the making of Wake Up Sid. She was born and brought up in Kolkata did her filmmaking studies in Ithaca, United States before she joined Karan’s team. It was during the making of Wake Up Sid that she gave the script of Gippi to Ayan who in turn passed on the script to Karan. It must be told here that Sonam Nair knew Ayan for a long time as they are family friends.


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Vinil Matthew –  Vinil’s made his foray into Bollywood with Hasee Toh Phasee. Vinil studied film direction at the FTII, Pune and later on became a part of the ad fraternity and worked with stalwarts like Mahesh Mathai and Prasoon Pandey. He met Karan for the first time during a coffee ad campaign. The Nestle campaign continued for almost a year and it was during the making of one of the ads that Vinil gave the script of Hasee Toh Phasee to Karan.


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Abhishek Varman – Abhishek Varman created a splash with his very first debut Two States. The film minted more than 100 Cr at the box office. Abhishek assisted Karan while filming My Name is Khan. He is son of revered art director R Varman known for films like Baazigar, Company and Andaz Apna Apna.


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Nitya Mehra – Nitya’s debut film Baar Baar Dekho was a disaster at the box office. Earlier she had assisted on international films like Life of Pi, The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Excel’s Don. She joined the film industry as early as 2001 and made her first feature in 2016.


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Alia Bhatt – She made her acting debut with Student of the Year and informing readers about her industry lineage is something that will basically amount to wastage of space.


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Varun Dhawan – Ditto for Varun Dhawan.


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Sidharth Malhotra – Sidharth Malhotra before he assisted Karan for My Name is Khan had auditioned and was selected for lead role for film that was to be directed by Anubhav Sinha. The film never got made. Sidharth has no Bollywood connection and his family is based in Delhi.


Decide for yourself if Kangana’s accusations have merit or not.


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