Actor Suniel Shetty has opened up on the controversial comments made by cricketer K L Rahul (now son-in-law) and fellow cricketer Hardik Pandya in an episode of Koffee With Karan in 2019.

Rahul and Pandya found themselves in hot water after their appearance on filmmaker Karan Johar’s chat show where they made controversial comments.

Reflecting on the controversy, Shetty, on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, said, “You know when that interview of him (K L Rahul) and Hardik (Pandya) came… Hardik probably got carried away. But when you have an anchor shoving it down your throat what do you do? So it is the format of the show, you get kids excited and they say stuff and then Bollywood is being banned.”

Rahul is now married to Shetty’s daughter, actor Athiya.

Suniel further added that people should be responsible about what they say and how they say it. “So I think we all, you as an anchor, me as a guest, we all need to be responsible because you ask me a question that I feel I can’t answer doesn’t mean (I should feel) that I am inferior to anybody, when that happens, that’s when things go wrong and it should never go wrong. You should have the guts to say things as they are and as they should be,” he shared.

When asked how Rahul is as a guy, Suniel called him “extremely committed”. He said, “He is one of the softest human beings you’ll come across. Also, I am talking about any sportsman, any athlete, give them their space because they all grow — situations, what you are going through at that time, all that is very important.”