The filmmaker appears to have responded to allegations after an old video surfaced showing him “admitting” to try and sabotage actor Anushka Sharma’s career. Several members of the movie industry, including filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, Kangana Ranaut, and writer-editor Apurva Asrani had all responded to the director’s comment on a panel in 2016.
Taking to his Instagram Stories, KJo shared a cryptic but rather heavy Hindi poem about staying strong amongst lies and accusations. He wrote, “Laga lo ilzaam, hum jhukne waalon mein se nahi.., jhoot ka ban jao ghulam...., hum bolne waalon mein se nahi..., jitna neecha dikhaoge..., jitne aarop lagaoge..., hum girne waalon mein se nahi..., humara karam humari Vijay hai...aap utha lo talvaar... Hum marne waalon mein se nahi...(State the allegations, I'm not amongst those who will bow down / Become a slave to lies, I won't say anything / However much you try to slander and show me in a bad light, I will not fall / My goodness is my victory / You can use any swords, I will not die).”
The Anushka video went viral shortly after Priyanka Chopra shared in a podcast about why she relocated to Hollywood. She had shared that she felt cornered in Bollywood and wasn’t getting the work she wanted as she “had beef” with certain individuals in the industry.
Johar has been for long accused of casting only insiders from the industry. He is set to launch Sanjay and Maheep Kapoor’s daughter Shanaya later this year in his film ‘Bedhadak.’ On the work front, he is returning to directing features with ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ in July 2023. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.