For several years, filmmaker Karan Johar has repeatedly faced online criticism over accusations that he encourages nepotism in Bollywood. From memes to roast videos, he has often been portrayed as a symbol of the industry’s insider culture, particularly after the nepotism debate gained momentum in recent times. The controversy has now moved beyond social media and into the courtroom following a roast video by CarryMinati.
Mumbai court restrains CarryMinati from publishing defamatory content
On Monday, a Mumbai court issued an order restraining YouTuber Ajey Nagar, better known as CarryMinati, along with Meta Platforms and others, from publishing or circulating any objectionable or defamatory material against Johar.
The filmmaker filed a defamation suit after CarryMinati uploaded a roast video titled Coffee with Jalan, which was allegedly inspired by Johar’s talk show Koffee With Karan. According to Johar, the video contained abusive language directed at him and the Hindi film industry while referencing the nepotism debate.
Judge Pandurang Bhosale passed an ad interim order, observing that there was prima facie evidence suggesting that Ajey Nagar and his manager, Deepak Char, had made defamatory statements and used vulgar language against the filmmaker. The court directed that the videos be removed immediately and restrained not only the defendants but also others from circulating or recirculating the content on social media platforms.
In his plea, Johar argued that the remarks made in the video were defamatory and highly abusive, making immediate removal necessary. Although Ajey maintained that the video had already been taken down, Johar contended that significant damage had already occurred, noting that the clip had attracted millions of views before being deleted and continues to resurface through reels and short videos online.
The court further directed all named defendants and unidentified parties to refrain from creating, uploading, sharing or hosting any further defamatory content related to Johar on social media until the matter is decided. Meta Platforms was instructed to remove the specific videos and URLs in question.
Upcoming project
On the professional front, Johar is preparing for the release of his next production, Accused. Directed by Anubhuti Kashyap, the film features Konkona Sen Sharma and Pratibha Ranta in leading roles and is scheduled to premiere on Netflix on 27 February.
