"Do you want your ass pinched?"
Koffee With Karan began in 2004 and quickly became famous for its gossip and scandals.
Hosted by Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar, the show presents interviews with various celebrities.
It began with Hindi film stars, but celebrities from different fields have graced Karan’s couch over the years.
These include television stars, cricketers, and Hollywood stars.
The questions Karan asks and the answers he receives have generated significant controversies and raised a few eyebrows.
Before the seventh season began in 2022, Karan revealed: “Ranbir Kapoor told me not to invite him on the show.
“He said, ‘I have to pay the price for it for too long’.”
DESIblitz gathers up all the conjecture and banter from the show, bringing you 12 controversies from Koffee With Karan.
Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul
In the sixth season of Koffee With Karan, Karan Johar interviewed the cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul.
During the show, the duo appeared to make remarks that were later termed as sexist.
For example, when Karan asked Hardik why he doesn’t ask women for their names in nightclubs, he replied:
“I like to watch and observe how they move. I’m little from the black side so I need to see how they move.”
Meanwhile, KL Rahul admitted it was “up to the woman” to decide which one of them to date.
Hardik Pandya later apologised for his comments. He said:
“After reflecting on my comments on Koffee with Karan, I would like to apologise to everyone concerned who I may have hurt in any way.
“Honestly, I got a bit carried away with the nature of the show. In no way did I mean to disrespect or hurt anyone’s sentiments.”
However, Hardik and Rahul faced legal consequences for their comments and the episode featuring them was removed from Disney+ Hotstar.
Kangana Ranaut
Karan Johar and Kangana Ranaut are infamous for their war of words.
In the fifth season of the show, Kangana appeared on the couch with her Rangoon co-stars, Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor.
During the ‘Rapid Fire’ segment, Kangana told Karan:
“If my biopic is ever made, you’ll play that stereotypical Bollywood biggie who is very snooty.
“The one who is completely intolerant to outsiders, the flag-bearer of nepotism, the movie mafia.”
Karan was stunned but made light of it during the interview. He said:
“I think Star World just got its promo!”
However, during an interview at the London School of Economics, Karan claps back at Kangana.
He questions: “When she says ‘movie mafia’, what does she mean?
“Are we sitting and not giving her work? Is that what makes us mafia? No, we do that by choice.
“I’m done with Kangana playing the ‘woman’ card and the ‘victim’ card.”
Alia Bhatt
When Alia Bhatt appeared on Koffee With Karan for the first time in 2013, she did not paint herself in the brightest light.
During the ‘Koffee Quiz’ round, Karan asks the actress to name the President of India.
Alia mistakenly replies: “Prithviraj Chauhan”.
This answer caused the host to burst into laughter, but Alia faced a barrage of trolling after the episode aired.
Several people made vicious comments about Alia’s IQ, and it turned into a popular meme.
In the same episode, Karan gave Alia a choice of three actors, asking her who she would kill, marry, and hook up with.
Alia replied that she would kill Sushant Singh Rajput. When Sushant tragically took his life in 2020, Alia and Karan were blamed for supposedly causing his death.
This led both celebrities to disable comments on their social media accounts.
Ranveer Singh
Known for his energy and sense of humour, Ranveer Singh is usually a delight to watch.
However, when he appeared on Karan’s couch with Anushka Sharma in the third season of the show, he took things too far.
He said to Anushka: “Do you want your ass pinched? I’m right here!”
Shocked, Anushka stared at Karan, seemingly hoping that he would say something.
However, the host simply laughed at Ranveer’s comment.
Anushka then snapped at Ranveer: “Don’t talk to me like that!”
The words of Ranveer were met with disgust on social media afterwards.
Notably, Anushka has also denounced Koffee With Karan following her appearance in the fifth season.
Deepika Padukone & Sonam Kapoor Ahuja
Continuing with the third season, Karan interviewed Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Deepika Padukone in one of the episodes.
Deepika had broken up with her ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor at that time, while Sonam had starred opposite him in Saawariya (2007).
Both actresses made snarky comments about Ranbir, taking multiple digs at him.
Deepika said that Ranbir should endorse condoms and that he should work on his ‘boyfriend’ skills.
Ranbir’s parents – Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh – reacted angrily to the incident.
Rishi also stated that he would never work with Karan. The actresses and Karan later apologised.
Meanwhile, after the episode aired, Rishi worked with Karan in Agneepath (2012) and Kapoor & Sons (2016).
Freida Pinto & Nargis Fakhri
In the fourth season of Koffee With Karan, Karan Johar invited the actresses Frieda Pinto and Nargis Fakhri to the show.
For the first time in the show’s history, the airing slot had to be changed to a time after the watershed.
This was due to certain comments that the actresses made.
For example, Nargis used sexual language, while Freida described how her surname meant ‘penis’.
It was certainly a wise decision to move this episode to a later slot.
However, since the show moved to Disney+ Hotstar, Karan and his guests have been liberal about the language they use.
Emraan Hashmi
In the sixth season, Emraan Hashmi graced the show for the first time.
During the ‘Rapid Fire‘ segment, Emraan made some pretty surprising comments.
Karan asks Emraan to name someone who he thinks is “plastic”.
Emraan replies: “Aishwarya Rai”.
This answer surprised millions, as Aishwarya is touted as one of the most beautiful women in the world. She also won the ‘Miss World’ title in 1994.
Emraan later issued a public apology to Aishwarya. He said: “I regret it. I keep saying that I have the utmost respect for everyone I speak about.
“I regret it because it was distasteful. Lately, people have become very sensitive. People get mad at everything on social media.
“In terms of the show, we were playing a game, and it was all in jest.
“I would love to apologise if she felt offended.”
Anil Kapoor
Returning to the third season of Koffee With Karan, we arrive at the episode, which featured Sanjay Dutt, Anil Kapoor, and Kangana Ranaut.
During the ‘Rapid Fire’ segment, Karan threw a volley of questions at Anil.
One of those questions was to describe what he thought of Abhay Deol.
Anil bluntly replied: “He seriously needs help. He is trying to do all the wrong things.”
This came after Abhay admitted his grouse against Anil for allegedly not giving him his dues in Aisha (2010).
Abhay fired back at Anil and said: “He’s right about me doing all the wrong things.
“Aisha is the biggest proof of that. Anil is a waste of my time.”
Salman Khan
Fans of Koffee With Karan were excited when the fourth season premiered with Salman Khan on the couch.
The episode marked Salman’s first appearance on the show.
However, the superstar made some questionable remarks during his interview with Karan.
One of these was when he said that he was a virgin and that he sleeps alone.
Salman has had publicised relationships with actresses, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Katrina Kaif.
His relationship with Aishwarya was particularly controversial, with rumours rife that Salman was abusive towards her.
Salman’s comment about being a virgin generated backlash on social media.
The star reappeared on the show in the fifth season with his brothers, Arbaaz and Sohail Khan.
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar have had a long professional association.
The actor has worked with Karan in blockbusters, including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), and My Name is Khan (2010).
It came as no surprise that SRK appeared in the inaugural episode of the series.
During the ‘Rapid Fire’ segment, Karan asked him: “What would you say to a die-hard Aamir Khan fan?”
SRK replied: “Guys, you need to find an icon that you can look up to.”
When asked the same about Salman Khan, Shah Rukh responded: “I would say, ‘God bless you’.”
In the mid-2000s, SRK was purported to share problematic relationships with Aamir and Salman.
However, in the third season, Shah Rukh said:
“With all the little issues that we have and the jokes that we crack, I really look up to Aamir Khan and Salman Khan.
“I think they are fantastic. I would like to grow up to be like Aamir Khan and Salman Khan one day.”
Kareena Kapoor Khan
In the mid-2000s, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Priyanka Chopra Jonas were pitted as rivals by fans and the media.
Whenever the actresses appeared on Koffee With Karan, they did not shy away from making comments about each other.
When she appeared in the third season of the show, Karan asked Kareena what she would ask Priyanka.
Kareena replied: “Why does she have that accent?”
When Priyanka came on the show a few episodes later, she replied to Kareena in a sassy manner.
She said: “I get my accent from the same place her boyfriend gets it.”
Kareena was dating Saif Ali Khan at that time. The couple married in 2012.
During the sixth season of the show, Kareena and Priyanka appeared on Koffee With Karan together.
They laughed at all their past digs and issues.
Richard Gere
This controversy does not come from any of Karan’s guests but from Karan himself.
In the second season, Karan interviewed Richard Gere. It marked the first time when Karan had a Hollywood star on the show.
Despite this, Karan admitted that his interview with Richard was the “most boring” one. In 2023, the filmmaker said:
“I swear, at one point, I thought I was going to pass out. It got very intense.”
“It was the first Hollywood celebrity we had, and I hope I never meet him, and he never sees this, but it was deathly boring.”
During the chat, Karan and Richard discussed the latter’s experiences in India and AIDS awareness.
Koffee With Karan is renowned for its banter and humorous environment.
However, the show continues to remain infamous for its personal questions and controversies.
That doesn’t stop viewers from devouring the episodes when new seasons air.
It might just be the guilty pleasure of Indian television fans.
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