Ever since the first posters of Dhadak, which is the Hindi remake of the Marathi blockbuster Sairat (2016), came out, social media has been full of posts against producer Karan Johar for endorsing ‘nepotism’ by casting Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor’s brother Ishaan Khattar. There have even been a number of satirical articles taking dig at the producer.
Johar has been accused of promoting nepotism ever since Kangana Ranaut called him the ‘flagbearer of nepotism’ on his TV show.
Now, actor Rajesh Khattar, father of Ishaan, has lashed out at the social media for coming down heavily on Johar for casting Ishaan and Janhvi. While talking to DNA, he said, “Social media is great to reach out if you have something to convey or share, but unfortunately, (it) has become an open defecation ground for trolls, where people want to dump their shit on anyone they fancy.”
Khattar also justified Karan’s decision of casting Ishaan and Janhvi. “It’s not as if Karan was compelled to take Ishaan! He is going by the subject and what he wants to project. The story is about youngsters in the 18-21-year-old age bracket and he wanted actors with no image, which is why he chose them,” he added.
He believes that actors with no filmi background are also getting equal opportunities. “When big brands like Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Yash Raj Films launch newcomers, it is talked about, but it’s not that other newcomers are not getting breaks. And the ones who have it in them and in their destinies are coming up. Where did Rajkummar Rao come from? Or for that matter, now Vicky Kaushal is coming up,” said Khattar.
Directed by Shashank Khaitan, Dhadak is all set to release on 6 July 2018.