Stree 2 actor Abhishek Banerjee on ‘being fired’ by Karan Johar controversy: Realised mentioning his name will make news FilmyMeet

Abhishek Banerjee had a double bonanza this Independence Day as he had two releases—Stree 2 and Vedaa. But it also came with a bonus of controversy as in a recent interview the casting director-turned-actor recalled his experience of working on Agneepath (2012) and how he was fired by the makers, which people assumed to be filmmaker Karan Johar. To combat the fire, Abhishek even had to issue a statement to clarify things.

Ask him about the whole ordeal and Abhishek says, “After all this, I have realised that the minute you mention the name Karan Johar, it will turn into news. It was a candid, casual conversation on a podcast where I was asked if I had been fired or faced tough times. I was telling the story as an inspiration for youngsters. Yes, we got fired, we were young and didn’t understand the whole aspect of a commercial film. But even from there, we rose, did many projects and eventually, Karan Johar’s production house, Dharma, gave us many projects like OK Jaanu (2017), Kill, Gyaarah Gyaarah, Kalank (2019) and Student Of The Year 2 (2019). The point I was trying to make is never feel hopeless. If something is not working, you can always bounce back.”

The actor even revealed that the ‘Karan’ he was referring to was a different one. “I was referring to Karan Malhotra (director) as Karan sir as that’s how I call my directors. That just got completely misinterpreted and Karan sir became ‘Karan Johar ne fire kiya hoga’, and then it became the whole outsider-insider debate. So, I had to issue a statement as I am a part of the film fraternity, and I don’t want anyone thinking I am accusing anyone. We were young boys at the time and there are certain circumstances you don’t know about,” says Abhishek.

But does it make things weird with Karan Johar following the incident? “I hope it doesn’t make anything awkward with him. I talked to a few people in Dharma, and I might meet Karan sir very soon. I am pretty sure that he has been in the industry longer than me, so he will understand what has happened. And I feel the statement is also clear enough. My job is done. Itni koi badi baat nahi hai ki koi grudge leke baithega,” Abhishek responds.