Mumbai: Karan Johar’s Instagram activity has sparked major chatter after a check of his following list showed that he is no longer following several names extremely close to him, including Shah Rukh Khan, Ananya Panday and Manish Malhotra.

What has confused fans even more is that these are not just industry acquaintances. Karan recently made his Met Gala appearance in a Manish Malhotra outfit, making their fashion connection very visible on a global stage. Around the same time, he also thanked Shah Rukh Khan for his success, a bond that goes back to the filmmaker’s biggest career-defining films.

The Ananya Panday angle has also raised eyebrows. Karan’s production house backed her latest release Chand Mera Dil, making the unfollow even more surprising for fans who see her as one of Dharma’s closely associated young stars.

As of writing, Karan also does not appear to be following several other familiar names from his close Bollywood circle, including Kareena Kapoor Khan, Malaika Arora, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt.

This has left fans asking one question: why would Karan unfollow people who have been so dear to him personally and professionally?

Neither Karan Johar nor any of the celebrities mentioned have reacted to the buzz so far. For now, there is no confirmed reason behind the Instagram move, but the timing and the names involved have made the whole thing hard for Bollywood fans to ignore.