Dharma Productions head Karan Johar on Thursday reacted to filmmaker Madhur Bhandakar’s accusation of stealing the title of his upcoming Netflix web-series, Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives, from his own upcoming project titled Bollywood Wives. The show that would premiere on Netflix, stars the four ‘Bollywood wives’ - Neelam Kothari, Maheep Kapoor, Bhavana Panday and Seema Khan. In an apology letter addressed to Bhandarkar, Karan Johar wrote that their relationship goes back a long way and that he has always admired his work.
Karan Johar also apologised to Bhandarkar ‘for any grievance that has been caused to him during the course of the last few weeks’ and clarified that the title has been chosen keeping the ‘non-fiction format of their reality-based franchise series’ in mind.
Sharing the letter on his Twitter handle, Karan Johar wrote, ‘To my dear friend @imbhandarkar,” along with the folded hands and a heart emoji.
In the 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. Through all these years. I have been an ardent admirer of your work and I have always wished the best for you.”
Apologising for the use of such a title, Karan further said, “I know you have been upset with us. I humbly apologise for any grievance that has been caused to you during the course of the last few weeks. However, I would want to clarify that we have chosen this new and different title -The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives keeping in mind the non-fiction format of our reality-based franchise series. As our title was distine, I did not foresee it upsetting you as it has and for that I duly apologise.”
He further asserted, “I want to inform you that we have been promoting our series with the hashtag “Fabulous Lives” on all social media platforms, which is the franchise title we intend to go ahead with. We assure you that the format, nature, audience and the title of our series are different and would not in any manner dent or encumber the exploitation of your work.”
He ended the letter saying, “I hope we can move away and onward from this and continue to make exceptionally good content for our audiences. I wish you the very best for all your endeavours and look forward to watching your work.”
