Exclusive: Here's an insider reaction from Karan's Kangana-baiting

Days after Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan and Saif Ali Khan took on Kangana Ranaut at the international awards function in New York, Bollywood is in a state of shock wondering why on earth Johar decide to mock the actress so blatantly on stage. A leading actress who sat in one of the front rows at the event said the whole skit on Kangana “came like a bolt from the blue.”

“We were like…why is he doing this? She is a National award winning reputed actress with a very staunch fan-base. So okay…she made comments on nepotism that Karan did not like. It doesn’t give him the right to humiliate her on an international platform,” said the actress, herself an “outsider” like Kangana. A prominent filmmaker known to keep away from controversies says “bitching” is a part of the backroom culture in Bollywood. “If you go to a party at Karan’s or Shah Rukh’s, the entertainment is mimicking and ridiculing everyone. Emboldened by success or whatever you may call it, Karan decided to bring the bitching out on a public platform. It backfired.”

Apparently, Saif whom Kangana gave a “hellish time” during Rangoon, was game for some “light hearted fun at Kangana’s expense”. But Varun Dhawan was not comfortable with the idea. “He went along with it only for Karan’s sake. Now his father, David Dhawan, is very angry for the embarrassment caused by this and Varun is mortified.” However, in what seems to be a cover-up act, Varun later apologised for his statement in a tweet. “I express my apology and regret.. I am extremely sorry if I have offended or hurt anyone with that act.. (sic),” he wrote. Public sympathy towards Kangana in the ongoing Kangana-Johar war has swung fully towards her after this incident.