What a difference five years makes. In 2016, Karan Johar and Ajay Devgn's complicated equation went nuclear on Twitter; on Thursday evening, KJo called the actor "amazing" in the very first episode of the seventh season of his chat show Koffee With Karan. In case you missed it, Ranveer Singh - who was the celebrity guest on the episode with Alia Bhatt - showed off a spot-on imitation of Ajay Devgn, to which Karan Johar said, "He's amazing" - meaning Ajay and not Ranveer, though full marks to Ranveer for his mimicry skills.
That's not all Karan Johar said about Ajay Devgn. "He has swag," he added, "he's the coolest guy ever." Clearly, there's been a thaw of global warming proportions ever since the controversy that erupted in 2016.
For those who don't know, 2016 was the year when films directed by KJo and Ajay clashed at the box office. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay released together and it all blew up when Ajay tweeted audio of a recorded phone conversation between one of his associates and self-appointed critic Kamaal R Khan. In it, KRK claimed to have been paid Rs 25 lakh to tweet about KJo's film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. KRK later claimed he had made this up and that he had not actually been paid anything by Karan Johar.
The fallout from this unexpected twist in the tale extended to Karan Johar's friendship of many years with Ajay Devgn's wife Kajol. In his memoir, released some months later, KJo wrote, "I don't have a relationship with Kajol anymore."
"The problem was actually never between her and me. It was between her husband and me, something which only she knows about, he knows about and I know about. But did feel that she needed to apologise for something she didn't do. I felt that she's not going to acknowledge 25 years of friendship, if she wants to support her husband, then that's her prerogative," Karan Johar wrote, adding, It's over. And she can never come back to my life. I don't think she wants to either. I never want to have anything to do with them as a unit. She was the one who mattered to me and now it's over."
Strong words. However, only months later, the Karan Johar-Kajol dynamic seemed to have been repaired; at a party held for Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta this year, the two hugged and posed together on the red carpet.
Kajol with Karan Johar at the party.
A truce also seemed to have been called with Ajay Devgn who appeared on the sixth season of Koffee With Karan with Kajol and ribbed KJo in the rapid fire round. Asked if he believed in superstition, Ajay said, "I had this superstition that all your films with 'K' work, till we did Kaal." Kaal, which released in 2005, starred Ajay Devgn and was produced by Karan Johar; it's box office performance was average.
Now, with Karan Johar's praise on Season 7 of Koffee With Karan, a happy ending has been achieved in true Bollywood style.
