Karan Johar apologizes to Madhur Bhandarkar over 'misuse' of title
What's the story
Filmmaker Karan Johar has finally responded to the allegations leveled by director Madhur Bhandarkar that he misused his project's title for the upcoming show Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. In an open letter, Karan wrote, "I know you have been upset with us. I humbly apologize for any grievance that has been caused to you during the course of the last few weeks."
Context
Madhur upset with Karan over alleged misuse of his title
Last week, Madhur had requested Karan and his team to change the title of their upcoming Netflix show Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. Madhur said that Karan had tweaked the title of his project "Bollywood Wives," stating that, "It is morally and ethically wrong (sic)." Karan's new show is set to be premiered tomorrow on the streaming service.
Notice
He also shared official notices issued to Karan
Yesterday, Madhur had shared the official notices sent to Karan by three film bodies and stated that he had not received any response from Dharma Productions by that time. "Notices send to Dharma since 19th November, 2 from IMPPA, 1 from IFTDA and 2 notices of FWICE, on misusing and tweaking of my film title Bollywood Wives (sic)," he tweeted.
Twitter Post
This is what Madhur had tweeted
Notices send to @DharmaMovies since 19th Nov, 2 from (IMPPA) ,1 (IFTDA) 2 Notices of (FWICE )all r Official Bodies of the Film Industry, on misusing tweaking of my Film Title #BollywoodWives...there is NO official response yet to any of the above Associations from Dharma. https://t.co/QBZyMWxXDG pic.twitter.com/zEfndEoATZ
— Madhur Bhandarkar (@imbhandarkar) November 26, 2020
Clarification
Our relationship goes back a long way, wrote Karan
In his letter, Karan wrote, "Dear Madhur, our relationship goes back a long way and we have both been a part of this close-knit industry for many, many years." Offering clarification over the use of the said title, the director-producer further added, "I would want to clarify that we have chosen this new and different title."
Statement
Our title would not dent your work: Karan
"I want to inform you that we have been promoting our series with the hashtag 'Fabulous Lives,' which is the franchise title we intend to go ahead with," Karan wrote. "We assure you that the format, nature, audience and the title of our series are different and would not in any manner dent your work (sic)," he added.
Twitter Post
Here is Karan Johar's open letter
To my dear friend @imbhandarkar 🙏❤️ pic.twitter.com/l5oX2hmM8A
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) November 26, 2020
Show
Karan's new show will premiere today on Netflix
Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, starring Neelam Kothari Soni, Maheep Kapoor, Seema Khan and Bhavana Panday, will premiere today on Netflix. The reality series revolves around the lives of the wives of some popular Bollywood celebrities. The show also features Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan in a special appearance.