Karan Johar's Dharma produced reality show franchise Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives have created a controversy with filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar slamming KJo for taking his title. The filmmaker had tweeted a few days ago, expressing his disapproval about how Johar used the title 'Bollywood Wives' even after he denied giving it to him. On Thursday, through an open letter, KJo apologized to Bhandarkar and also assured him that his franchise will not harm his upcoming project. Now, Bhandarkar has accepted the apology but has said that this is not how real relationships work.
In a tweet, Madhur Bhandarkar said, "Dear @KaranJohar. Thank you for your response. This is indeed a close-knit industry and it operates on mutual trust and respect. When we blatantly disregard norms that we ourselves have established, then it makes very little sense calling ourselves a 'fraternity'. I didn’t hesistate a moment in the past before granting you the title “GUTKA” in 2013, that you had requested from me, and hence I would have expected the same courtesy in return when I declined you the use of a title I had duly registered, and which I did not intend to part with. The fact that you went ahead and used the title anyway despite our conversation and despite it also having been rejected by the trade associations, is what had upset me deeply. This is not how I believe real relationships work. But let’s move forward. I accept your apology and would like to leave things here. I too wish you well in your future endeavours."
On Thursday, sharing the apology letter on his Twitter handle, Karan Johar wrote, ‘To my dear friend @imbhandarkar,” along with the folded hands and a heart emoji. He further said, "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."
In 2016, Madhur Bhandarkar had shared that he was planning to make a film on the lives of Bollywood wives. The National Award-winning filmmaker, known for showcasing real life issues through his films, had thanked Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar for helping him, in this context. "A big thank you to @ritesh_sid & @faroutakhtar for giving us, #BhandarkarEntertainment, the title Bollywood Wives," Bhandarkar had posted on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Johar's web series "Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives" chronicles the lives of popular star wives such as Maheep Kapoor, Neelam Kothari, Seema Khan and Bhavana Pandey. It is backed by Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital arm of Dharma Productions.
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