Filmmaker Karan Johar has once again addressed the long-standing ‘nepo kid’ tag that Alia Bhatt often faces, criticising those who continue to use the label despite her performance-oriented roles. He launched Alia into Bollywood with the 2012 film 'Student of the Year', alongside Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra.


Karan reacts to people calling Alia Bhatt a 'nepokid'

In a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Karan spoke about people branding Alia with the nepotism label.
“Have you seen Highway ? Have you seen Udta Punjab? Have you seen Raazi ? Have you seen Gangubai? Just watch her films. If you're still calling her a nepo kid, then you’ve got to be the most idiotic person on this planet. And no one can help you,” he stated.



Karan's recent remarks about Alia that created trolls

The filmmaker has come under scrutiny for repeatedly praising Alia, especially during the latest season of his talk show Koffee With Karan , where viewers accused him of spotlighting her excessively and labelling her the best actress in the industry.

Karan about his bond with Alia

In an earlier conversation with ETimes, Karan said, “She’s the first person I felt parental about. She’s the first person I felt I had a parental instinct for. I love her, and the country knows she’s one of our finest actors. I have a tremendous amount of love, respect and admiration, and I’m allowed to say what I want about her. So, if I cry at her good news and genuinely feel happy, then I’m allowed to. I’m like a parent to her. Why should I pretend for optics? I genuinely love her and I want to say it all the time.”

Alia Bhatt won the Best Actress award at the 69th National Film Awards for ' Gangubai Kathiawadi '.