In this old video, Karan Johar admits to being 'very guilty of nepotism'

The internet is a cruel place where all sins come home to roost. Karan Johar's battle on the non-existence of nepotism might just get a little harder. An old video of the director has surfaced where he openly admits to being 'very guilty of nepotism'. 

The video dates back to 2014, where Johar joined Deepika Padukone and Tisca Chopra on film critic Anupama Chopra's show, The Front Row. Speaking about the recent launch of Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan in his film, Student of The Year (2014), Johar says, "I picked up a chubby girl (Alia). I saw something..maybe the fact... I can't lie... maybe it was the fact that she was Mahesh Bhatt's daughter...I don't know."

The director goes on to say, "Right now, I'd like to say no, but it may have been a very strong sub-layer." 

Then comes the big statement, where Johar admits, "That is nepotism, and we are guilty. I am very guilty."

The Student of the Year director also admitted that he would not have cast Varun Dhawan if not for the fact that he was David Dhawan's son. Johar says, "Would I have cast Varun Dhawan if he wasn't David Dhawan's son? Because he was David Dhawan's son, he was on my set as an assistant director. And that's why he spent enough time with me, so I could understand that he can be a movie star." 

The director found himself being accused of being the 'movie mafia' by Kangana Ranaut on season 5 of his show, Koffee With Karan. The director later accused Ranaut of using the 'victim card', telling her she should 'leave the industry' if she has so many problems with it. However, Johar might cringe at the sight of himself corroborating Ranaut's statements.

Concluding his statement in the video, he says, "So as I said, it has a lot to do with the fact that there are too many factors in this country that determine movie stardom and I think true talent is the least of them. It is very sad and truly tragic. Would I have been a filmmaker? I am a producer's son. I had no experience, I was an assistant on one film, my father had the platform to give me and therefore I am a filmmaker. If I go through any struggle in my career then I deserve it." 

This statement is also in direct contradiction to Varun's recent statement on the existence of nepotism in the film industry, saying, "I don’t think (there is). I don’t want to talk much about it." 

This debate is showing no signs of dying down anytime soon.