‘Let’s move forward’: Madhur Bhandarkar responds to K.Jo’s open letter, says title row upset him deeply

After being accused of ‘misusing and tweaking’ the title of Madhur Bhandarkar’s ongoing project ‘Bollywood Wives’, Dharma Productions CEO Karan Johar responded to the director via an open letter. Bhandarkar has now acknowledged Johar’s open letter and has responded with a note of his own, sharing that he is willing to move forward but he is deeply upset over the title row.

In a note posted on his Twitter account, the ‘Fashion’ director said it makes very little sense calling themselves a “fraternity”‘ if they ignore the standards which have been set by them only.

“This is indeed a close-knit industry and it operates on mutual trust and respect. When we blatantly disregard norms that we ourselves have established, then it makes very little sense calling ourselves a ‘fraternity’,” Bhandarkar wrote on Twitter. He also mentioned how he had earlier given the title Gutka to Johar in 2013, but it did upset him when Johar overstepped him despite him denying the title Bollywood Wives.


However, the director has decided to “leave things here” and “move forward”. “I accept your apology and would like to leave things here. I too wish you well in your future endeavours.”

In a note to Bhandarkar, the ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ director clarified that Dharma Productions’ upcoming reality show ‘The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’ is ‘new and different’. The show is slated to premiere on Netflix on Friday with the focus on four ‘Bollywood wives’ - Neelam Kothari, Seema Khan, Maheep Kapoor and Bhavana Panday.

“Dear Madhur, Our relationship goes back a long way and we have both been a part of this close-knit industry for many, many years. Through all these years. I have been an ardent admirer of your work and I have always wished the best for you,” wrote Johar.

Apologising for the use of such a title for the upcoming show, he further said, “I know you have been upset with us. I humbly apologise for any grievance that has been caused to you during the course of the last few weeks. However, I would want to clarify that we have chosen this new and different title -The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives keeping in mind the non-fiction format of our reality-based franchise series. As our title was distine, I did not foresee it upsetting you as it has and for that I duly apologise.”

The 48-year-old also clarified that the format, nature and the title of his series is different and would in no way, exploit Bhandarkar’s work.

“I want to inform you that we have been promoting our series with the hashtag “Fabulous Lives” on all social media platforms, which is the franchise title we intend to go ahead with. We assure you that the format, nature, audience and the title of our series are different and would not in any manner dent or encumber the exploitation of your work,” wrote Johar.
Earlier on Thursday, Bhandarkar had shared pictures of the notices he had sent to Karan Johar’s production house and other bodies,claiming that he was yet to get any response from him. He had accused them of “misusing & tweaking” the title of his ongoing project ‘Bollywood Wives’.