“Good lord, we are back!” – this is how Bollywood’s acclaimed director-producer Karan Johar chose to introduce the latest season of his popular talk show, Koffee with Karan Season 8. Since its inception in 2004, Koffee with Karan has always been a hyped-up topic of discussion, all thanks to the many popular celebrities it has featured. Produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital content division of Karan Johar’s production company, Dharma Production, the first six seasons were aired on Star World India. But since 2022, the talk show moved to the online platform of Disney+Hotstar.
For many (including me), watching Koffee with Karan is a guilty pleasure. This is because the talk show tends to frequently garner headlines due to its controversial snippets and candid confessions that ONLY Karan Johar can spill out from his ‘Bollywood buddies’. The guests, mostly from the film industry, have found themselves revealing secrets and making statements that become the ‘hot’ news for various media portals. This time, the inaugural episode of Koffee with Karan Season 8 was graced by the Bollywood star couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. Sobriquetly described by Karan Johar as ‘Bollywood royalty’ and popularly nicknamed ‘Deepveer’, they are one of the most popular celebrity couples in India. Fans can’t get enough of them and their mushy romance, right from their dating days to their nuptial knot. So, the couple talking about themselves was a bingo for them.
But unfortunately, the episode did not go as smoothly as everyone assumed it to be. As if continuing the infamous tradition of creating controversy on the show, some of the revelations about Deepika Padukone’s love life gathered a lot of unnecessary attention and rolling eyeballs. Apparently, in the ongoing conversation, Deepika made statements such as – “I didn’t commit, until he proposed to me” ; “There was no commitment as such. Even if we were technically allowed to see other people, we would just keep coming back to each other“ Several netizens called her out for these and roasted her on social media platforms. Consequently, it was assumed that she was cheating on Ranveer Singh and was unserious about their relationship.
Having watched the episode, I felt this entire internet blowout was extremely unnecessary. Firstly, the actress was referring to the initial days of her dating life with Ranveer Singh. This romance blossomed during the making of the movie Goliyoon ki Raaslela, Ramleela. Both of them admitted on the show that they did not assume their relationship to go as seriously as it went. And most importantly, who are we to judge their relationship? For me, this controversy is a regressive result of how women are constantly questioned about their choices and how they handle their personal and professional lives. Women are continuously judged for the number of people they have dated and their choices, whether you’re a celebrity or a common man. Moreover, relationships can complicated and I do not find owning up to them wrong.
I especially did not appreciate how her words were picked up out of context, based upon which people criticized her for ‘revealing too much’. Well, I understand that being a celebrity, they have to be careful with what and how they speak. But they are also human beings and naturally juggle between revealing too little or too much. It is amusing for me to see the unwanted attention people have given to her statements and trolled the actress mercilessly.
The most disappointing aspect was how many people chose to ignore the other details of the episode and only focused on that ONE aspect. Apart from talking about her relationship, Deepika Padukone also gave an insight into her battle with depression and how she overcame it. It was informative to hear her views on mental health, emphasizing ‘seeking help’. She also credited her husband, Ranveer Singh, for being patient with her in the entire journey of mental health recovery.
I loved the episode, and their candidness and truthfulness about themselves and their relationship. According to me, Koffee with Karan is a lighthearted talk show and that is how the audience should perceive it. Unwanted controversies are a wastage of time and effort that do not have any value addition to the society. On my part, I highly recommend everyone to watch the episode at least once, without any preconceived mindset or judgment. This will help generate a better watching experience for you.