Karan Johar says Aditya Chopra called him ‘annoying, irritating, shameless’: ‘You are on magazine cover, you are on hoardings, I can’t deal with this’ | Bollywood News

Filmmakers Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar share one of the most talked-about friendships in the Hindi film industry. Karan has often credited Aditya for being a key influence and inspiration in his journey into Bollywood. Their bond, which dates back to their early days as aspiring filmmakers, has stood the test of time, despite their vastly different personalities and public personas.
Aditya Chopra is famously media-shy — he avoids interviews, steers clear of public events and maintains a near-mythical level of privacy. In stark contrast, Karan Johar is one of the most visible and outspoken figures in the industry. He has crafted a public image through his films, fashion choices, active social media presence, and his long-running, and often controversial, celebrity talk show, Koffee With Karan.
While Aditya may have influenced Karan creatively, he couldn’t quite convince the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai director to embrace a low-key public life like him. In an earlier interaction, Karan recalled that Aditya even found him “irritating and annoying” because of his outspoken image.
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“He has given up on me. He was among the first people to tell me, ‘Why are you doing this talk show (Koffee With Karan)?’ and he gave up on me at a point of time because I was all over the place. He said, ‘I can’t handle it anymore. You annoy me, you irritate me, you unnerve me. I can’t handle it. It’s working for you, you do what you want,’” Karan told Komal Nahata.
Karan also shared an anecdote from the time one of his films was releasing and he was caught up in intense promotional activity. He said, “I remember I was in the thick of things, the film I was producing was coming out, and in the middle of that I was going to do a reality show. He had called me when I was on my way to the reality show set and said, ‘In the middle of all this you are shooting a reality show, you have no shame. I can’t talk to you anymore.’ And then he banged the phone on me.”

Karan recalled calling Aditya back to check if he was genuinely angry with him. Recalling the conversation, he said, “Aditya told me, ‘I’m fed up of you… you are on the magazine cover, you are on hoardings, you are on coffee mugs… can you just not be all over the place?’”
Karan admitted that Aditya is the only person who can get away with reprimanding him so bluntly. “Only he can reprimand me. He screams at me and I become quiet in front of him like a student in a principal’s office. My mom and dad never raised their voices at me, but Aditya Chopra screams at me.”Story continues below this ad
However, Karan also shared his adoration towards Aditya Chopra and Yash Raj Films. “Aditya Chopra and YRF made me. I owe my career to him. Gratitude when not acknowledged is the worst thing. People go to temples and all but they forget the basic gratitude.”