Karan Johar (left) and Virat Kohli.
Credit: PTI Photos
Film producer Karan Johar has revealed the reason for not inviting cricket stars including former Indian cricket team and RCB captain Virat Kohli on his popular talk show 'Koffee with Karan'.
While Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma has featured on the popular talk show multiple times, Johar explained that he has never asked the cricket superstar to appear on his show, adding that he will not ask any other cricketers while speaking on Tennis legend Sania Mirza's podcast, "Serving it up with Sania".
The topic came up when Mirza asked the filmmaker about a personality who never featured on 'Koffee With Karan', to which Johar took a pause before Mirza suggested the former India captain's name.
“I have never asked Virat. And now, I am not asking any cricketers after what happened with Hardik (Pandya) and (KL) Rahul. There are many who I just felt wouldn’t come, so I never asked them in the first place,” said Karan who has his decision was based following the controversy in 2019 that involved stars K L Rahul and Hardik Pandya.
It may be recalled that in 2019, Pandya and Rahul had attracted criticism from social media users for their inappropriate comments and labelled them sexist and rude to women. The two cricketers were also handed a brief suspension from the Board of Cricket Control in India following the episode. Disney+Hotstar also pulled the episode down.
Johar said that the incident affected him personally and changed the manner in which he approaches the guest invitations. He said he still feels responsible for the backlash on the cricketers.
Further, Johar said Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor had repeatedly declined invites to appear on the talkshow. "He’s come before, but for the last three seasons, he’s said no," Johar stated. His last appearance was in 2016 when he featured alongside Ranveer Singh
Johar invites movie stars and other celebrities on 'Koffee With Karan', which has completed eight seasons since it first aired in 2004.