Director, producer, talk show host, and budding fashion influencer Karan Johar teased fans with the announcement that Koffee With Karan would not be returning on television for a new season, only to reveal that it would be airing online on Disney+ Hotstar instead.
Over the years, the show has provided fans with an unexpectedly candid sneak peek into the lives of celebrities as the presence of Johar allows them to let their guards down, at least a little bit. The infamous ‘Rapid Fire Round’ has caused countless controversies, much to the delight of the audience and entertainment journalists around the country.
Now that a new season is imminent, let’s take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of the most iconic moments on the show that had a huge impact on our pop culture…
When Alia Bhatt got the name of India’s president wrong and became the subject of a thousand memes
Easily one of the show’s most infamous moments, and one that Alia Bhatt would like to erase from our collective memories, is when the actress fumbled and got the name of the President of India wrong in the general knowledge quiz segment of the show (a bizarre addition to the later seasons). If she thought that people would laugh and forget about the gaffe after the show ended, she was wrong, and how! Bhatt became the subject of countless memes mocking her intelligence but, thankfully, the actress had good humour about it and even collaborated with comedy collective AIB to create a sketch around it.
When Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor held nothing back on their KWK debut
Once upon a time, Bollywood celebrities were not media trained up to their ears and actually gave no holds-barred interviews. One such example from the Golden Age is Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor’s first time on the show, a short while after their on-screen debuts. The actors were on a roll, not skipping any controversial questions, talking about celebrities who have gotten cosmetic surgeries done, and basically outing Ranbir Kapoor to be a cheater on the show. R.I.P to spontaneous, off-the-cuff celebrity interviews.
When Kangana Ranaut called Karan Johar the ‘Flagbearer of Nepotism’ on the show
Much before Kangana Ranaut came out as a neo-Nazi and became a mouthpiece for the Right Wing in India, she was lauded for saying what nobody else had dared to say on air. The actor went on the show and declared Karan Johar to be the “Flagbearer of nepotism”, which is fair. Quickly after the show, ‘nepotism’ became the hot topic of debate and everyone and their uncles had opinions about it that they couldn’t put out fast enough. There was even public outrage over star kids getting countless opportunities without them acknowledging their privilege, all thanks to Ranaut soft launching the keyword into the public’s consciousness during the episode. Does this mean we would not see Student Of The Year 24: This Time It’s Personal starring Taimur Ali Khan and Misha Kapoor? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
When Twinkle Khanna made her debut on the couch and reduced Akshay Kumar into an embarrassed mess
It’s not news that Twinkle Khanna is super witty and sharp and while that makes her the perfect guest to have on the show (all her responses were television gold!), the people at the receiving end of her hilarious quips would have something different to say. In this case, it was her husband actor Akshay Kumar who had to bear the brunt of her brutal honesty, especially about the origins of their relationship (“It didn’t start as a fling.” “Oh, it did.”) and his, well, sizeable physical attributes. Kumar remained flustered throughout the show, resulting in a hilarious and memorable episode.
When Vicky Kaushal swooned after hearing Katrina Kaif’s comments about him
It’s borderline criminal how nobody talks about just how adorable Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif have been about each other in individual interviews much before they snuck away to get married in a small, intimate ceremony. One such instance happened when Kaushal was told that Kaif picked him to be the actor who she thought she would look best with on-screen. The Sardar Uddham Singh actor was left speechless after seeing the clip and promptly proceeded to pretend-faint on Ayushmann Khurrana’s lap as he swooned. These guys need to appear on the show together in the upcoming season, or we riot. Deal?
When Sonam Kapoor thought Robert De Niro and Mahatma Gandhi were basically the same people
Sonam Kapoor has never left us disappointed when it comes to her appearances on Koffee With Karan, whether it’s calling out Bollywood celebrities’ style sense or confusing Mahatma Gandhi with Robert De Niro. In the now-infamous for tripping unsuspecting Bollywood celebrities into looking uninformed about the world around them segment, Kapoor was asked who said “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”, she excitedly shouted “Robert De Niro” as her answer. Happens to the best of us.
When Salman Khan declared that he was a virgin
Salman Khan surprised everyone when in an unexpectedly self-aware moment he joked (we hope) that he was a virgin who was saving himself for marriage. Needless to say, the quote became the only thing anyone could talk about for days to come with “I’m a virgin” becoming a standard response for increasingly risque and prying questions by the host in subsequent episodes.
When Kareena Kapoor channeled her inner Regina George on the couch
Kareena Kapoor is a celebrity who rarely minces her words, especially on the Koffee With Karan couch. Her appearances on the couch became the stuff of headlines for days after the episodes aired, like that time she poked fun at Priyanka Chopra’s accent or the time she declared that most of the leading men in Bollywood have a lot of money and not a lot of brains, or when she (rightfully) called Taimur Ali Khan, her son, her biggest competition.
When Hardik Pandya thought he could let his guard down on national television and paid dearly for it
Cricketer Hardik Pandya realised the folly of being too relaxed on the show airing on national television a bit too late when he was handed a suspension notice by the BCCI amidst the public furor over his comments on the show. Pandya, who had appeared with teammate KL Rahul, gleefully recounted his exploits with women and proudly stated his misogynistic opinion about women’s appearances. All in all, not a good look for a potential role model for millions across the country. Along with the suspension, the two were fined heavily too.
You can watch the reruns of the show on Disney+ Hotstar.
