Abhishek Banerjee, fresh off two exciting releases, recently found himself at the centre of a controversy after sharing an anecdote on a podcast from his time as a casting director on Agneepath (2012). He mentioned being fired, which led many to assume he was referring to filmmaker Karan Johar (producer of the movie).

To set the record straight, Banerjee issued a public statement and tells us that he was actually “referring to the film’s director, Karan Malhotra”. “I was referring to Karan Malhotra (director) as Karan sir as that’s how I call my directors. That just got completely misinterpreted and Karan sir became ‘Karan Johar ne fire kiya hoga’, and then it became the whole outsider-insider debate.”

Reflecting on the situation, Banerjee explains, “I’ve come to realise that the moment you mention Karan Johar’s name, it instantly becomes news. I was asked if I had ever been fired or faced tough times. I shared the story as a lesson for young people — yes, we were fired because we were inexperienced and didn’t fully understand the demands of a commercial film. But we didn’t let that setback define us. We moved on, did many projects, and Karan Johar’s production house has since given us numerous opportunities.”

When asked whether the incident might have caused any awkwardness with Johar, Banerjee says: “I really hope it doesn’t create any tension.”