I don't consume or promote drugs, says K.Jo on alleged 'drug party'; calls media reports 'baseless & false'

Film-maker and Dharma Productions head, Karan Johar, on Friday, released a statement on Twitter, rubbishing the reports which claimed that drugs were consumed at a party held at his residence in 2019.

In a lengthy statement posted on his Twitter account, Johar called the claims 'baseless and false' and clarified that he neither consumes narcotics, nor promotes the consumption of such substances.

Johar's clarification came after a video from one of his house parties in 2019, resurfaced on social media amid the ongoing drug probe by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.


In the short clip, first posted by the filmmaker on instagram last year, actors Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Vicky Kaushal among others can be seen partying together. It is being alleged that drugs were consumed by several top film personalities at this party.

Siromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa, according to the news agency PTI, in a tweet had claimed that NCB is set to summon Johar soon in the drug-related case.

"Certain news channels, print/ electronic media and social media platform(s) are wrongly and misleadingly reporting that narcotics were consumed at a party that I, Karan Johar hosted on July 28, 2019 at my residence. I had already clarified my position way back in 2019 that the allegations were false," Johar said in the statement. “In view of current malicious campaign, I am reiterating that the allegations are completely false and baseless. No narcotics substance were consumed at the party. I would like to unequivocally once again state that I do not consume Narcotics and I do not promote or encourage consumption of any such substance," he added.


The director said such "slanderous" statements and news articles have subjected him, his family, colleagues, and banner Dharma Productions, to "hatred, contempt and ridicule".

On Friday, the NCB had questioned Kshitij Ravi Prasad and Anubhav Chopra in relation with the drug-nexus in the Hindi film industry. Johar clarified that he knows neither of them personally.

The film-maker said Prasad joined Dharmatic Entertainment, sister concern of Dharma Productions, in November 2019 as one of the executive producers on contract basis for a project, which eventually did not materialise.

Johar added that Chopra was briefly associated with his banner as an assistant director and worked only on two projects.

"He was briefly associated with us for only two months in the capacity of 2nd assistant director for a film, between November 2011 and January 2012 and as assistant director for the short film in January 2013. He has thereafter never been associated with Dharma Productions for any other project," the director said.

The 48-year-old said that in the past few days media has resorted to “distasteful, distorted and false allegations”, and if the baseless claims continue to malign his image he wouldn't be left with any other option but to legally protect his rights.

The NCB, which began the probe after a drugs angle came to light in connection with Rajput''s alleged suicide, has now widened its investigation and called film celebrities for questioning.

(With inputs from PTI)