‘Karan Johar had slightly feminine gestures, told him so he could improve; didn't mean to insult him': Lilliput apologises for his remarks that scarred filmmaker

Indian Express

5 days ago

Films like Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and, more recently, Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet, are often cited as the first glimpses the audience got of Karan Johar as an actor. However, few know that Karan Johar's acting debut came much earlier, as a teenager in the Doordarshan sci-fi TV series Indradhanush. The series aired in 1989 for just 13 episodes, but it gained popularity and was well-regarded for its time. Karan was part of the main cast, and among his co-actors was veteran performer MM Faruqui, popularly known as Lilliput.
In his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy, Karan recounted his experiences on the show and shared an incident that left a deep emotional impact. He wrote about how a comment made by Lilliput regarding his mannerisms and perceived effeminacy affected him so profoundly that he decided never to pursue acting again. Now, in a recent interview with Red FM Podcasts, Lilliput has addressed what Karan wrote and offered his perspective on the moment.
He recalled, 'He was just a kid at that time. We come from a theatre background, and there's a certain habit we have: if we think of a good punchline, we give it to the actor in front of us; we don't keep it for ourselves. In theatre, we are very honest. If someone is doing something wrong, we tell them directly, and usually, they don't take it badly. Karan had a slightly feminine gesture, so I thought, 'He's a kid, if we tell him now, maybe he'll adjust it and grow better from it.' But I didn't know the psychology behind it.'
Lilliput said that he did not mean to insult or offend Karan, and said that had he known that Karan was hurt by his comment, he would have apologised right them. 'I had no idea that I was doing something wrong or saying something that would insult him. In my mind, he was a talented kid doing good work. I thought, if he works on this, he'll go even further. That was my intention. But it hurt him, and I didn't know that. If I had known, I would've apologised right then and there. I never meant to hurt him. I said what I said with a clean heart. He took it badly, that's his psychology. If we meet sometime, I'll apologise. No harm in doing that,' he said.
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While Lilliput's comments appear sincere and conciliatory, Karan's experience was clearly painful. In An Unsuitable Boy, he explained how that moment shaped his self-image and pushed him away from pursuing acting roles:
'…I remember one thing that really threw me off. There was an actor called Lilliput. He took me aside one day and said, 'You're a very good actor but you're very effeminate. Log aapka mazaak udayenge. (People will make fun of you). Your hand gestures are very effeminate.' That stuck with me. And I stopped acting. After that, when I was offered some TV work, I said no. I didn't want to come across as effeminate. I associated it with abnormality. Nobody said 'gay' in those days, but 'effeminate' was the insinuation to make at that time. I was called 'pansy' — which is to say, you're not like a man.'
Indradhanush also featured other notable names such as filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker and actor Urmila Matondkar. Despite the hurtful memory attached to it, Karan has spoken fondly about the series and his time on set, especially the experience of filming at the legendary RK Studios. In a 2020 Twitter thread, he wrote: 'RK Studios is more than a mega institution of Indian cinema, it has also shaped many personal memories for me. My fondest memory wasn't as a director but as an actor! I was 15 & shooting for a TV serial called Indradhanush, which was being filmed there, one of my first times on a set. I remember standing at the gate of RK Studios, excited to get on set & walk through the corridors where the great Raj Kapoor created some of the most memorable films.'