On Friday, Bollywood’s ace producer and director Karan Johar shared pictures from the time he was filming Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in 2016. The pictures showed Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, and Aishwarya Rai having fun on set.
Karan captioned the post with a heartwarming note and wrote, “‘The experience of filming ADHM was one of my best on-set experiences.’” He continued to praise the three actors for their talent and commitment to their roles, writing, “‘Anushka and Ranbir were such a treat to direct… I always wanted to direct Aishwarya and she gave Saba so much dignity, poise, and beauty.’”
In the same message, Karan talked about how he learned about “the Ranbir process” and came to really respect it. “I got to know and love him as a person and appreciate his detachment from stardom or movie star trappings,” he wrote.
Right after the Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani director posted the pictures, fans noticed that Fawad Khan’s name wasn’t there in the message, despite him playing a huge role in the movie. They shared their disappointment in the comments.
An Instagram user commented, “The caption is so beautiful, but not a single line for Fawad? Why, Karan?” Another user wrote, “How smoothly you skipped mentioning Fawad Khan… Surely it wouldn’t have been that damaging? Disappointed here in Lahore.”
This is not the first time Karan has been controversial when it comes to his professional relationship with Fawad. In 2017, during a session with two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the Student of the Year director subtly hinted that he would not be open to working with Fawad (and presumably other Pakistani artists) in the future.
“It was a tough time for me. I don’t think I would want to repeat that experience ever,” said Karan when Sharmeen said she hoped to see Fawad directed by him again. Karan continued to say that he wishes Fawad would find the best platform to showcase his talents. “I have great regard for Fawad’s talent. So just like you [Sharmeen], I hope and wish he finds the best platforms because he is a prolific actor.”
In 2018 on Koffee with Karan, in a game of rapid fire between Sonam Kapoor and her siblings, the former was asked who she pairs well with on screen. When her brother, Harshvardhan, suggested Fawad, Sonam quickly jibed back with, “But Karan sent him back!”
The statement was met with a look of horror from Karan. He then avoided commenting on the matter and asked Sonam for another name, to which she replied, Salman Khan.
Pakistani actors have been unofficially barred from acting in Bollywood films since the hard-liner BJP-led government of Narendra Modi took the government.
