Karan Johar calls Freedom of Expression in India a joke; sparks controversy!

The producer-director said that “freedom of expression” is “the biggest joke” in world during the ongoing Zee Jaipur Literature Festival said. Mr Johar had said on the opening day of the lit fest during a discussion titled “An Unsuitable Boy” with author Shobha De and journalist Poonam Saxena. Karan. He recalled his awkward childhood in South Bombay when he was referred to as “pansy” boy, a label that had bothered him endlessly.

“We can’t write anything, say anything and yet we have to be democratic”, he said.

The intolerance debate is back in India with filmmaker Karan Johar once again brewing the political storm by saying that “the talk about freedom of expression is the biggest joke I believe in the world. Do I need to fight the governance?”

He added that as a filmmaker he’s bound by everything – be it what he puts on celluloid or what he says in print. “I’m scared that I’m saying something in Jaipur and I don’t know who will file a case when I get home”.

The conversation then moved on to section 377 of the Indian penal code, which criminalises same sex relationships.

“We set up two policemen to go and arrest him… That guy was horrified”, said Johar.

Johar cited the example of those who had spoken out earlier – a reference to actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, who have both been attacked by Sangh and BJP leaders and supporters. “Shah Rukh Khan is very much a part of my family”. He hasn’t fallen on the wayside.

His wife and three Children will always be my family and they are part of my life.

Karan said that he shares a great relationship with SRK and his family. “All relationships have ups and downs”.

But like any relation, it was not without ups and down.