{"id":3497,"date":"2016-05-11T19:33:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-11T14:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=3497"},"modified":"2026-07-17T20:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:04:12","slug":"koffee-with-karan-bollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=3497","title":{"rendered":"Reaching For the Stars: How Koffee With Karan Got us Closer to Bollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I<\/span>f you\u2019ve grown up in India, you\u2019re aware that the whole country has two major hobbies: Bollywood and cricket. And unlike cricket, that happens to unite people when there\u2019s a match against Pakistan, Bollywood is a permanent presence in our lives: The ever-increasing crowds outside Mannat and Jalsa are proof.\n\nIf you\u2019re a die-hard romantic, your world begins and ends with Shah Rukh Khan. If you\u2019ve always dreamt of being a sassy beauty, Poo was your role model. Although, we saw these stars play out our fantasies on the big screen, we barely knew them.\n\n\u00a0\n\n<\/p>\"\"\n\nThat is, until Koffee with Karan<\/em>. As the show\u2019s latest season premieres on Hotstar this weekend, it\u2019s time to look back at how KWK, <\/em>a Star World Original,\u00a0brought us closer to the stars.\n\nAlmost 14 years ago, writer-director-producer, Karan Johar did the unthinkable: He brought our favourite Bollywood stars from the big screen, straight into our living rooms. In the hour-long chat show that premiered with SRK and Kajol, Johar would make stars \u2013 ranging from A-listers, debutantes, to Bollywood veterans and spouses \u2013 reveal their greatest biases, disappointments, fears, and dreams, in such a candid fashion as if the spotlight was never on them. Rarely have our stars been as relatable as they have been on KWK<\/em>. Where else can you imagine Mahesh Bhatt throwing shade on Kajol?\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nYou see, before KWK<\/em>, we didn\u2019t know an Aamir Khan or Varun Dhawan beyond the films they did or the rumours and link-ups that film magazines printed against their names. But KWK<\/em> attempted to uncover the person behind the star: Varun Dhawan is as goofy in real life as he is in the movies and Aamir is dangerously reticent. Suddenly, our favourite stars were now more human. It felt as comfortable as catching up with long-lost friends on a couch.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nAs a result, every single star who has made an appearance in KWK<\/em>, revealed much more than they\u2019d ever done in their films and interviews. Sure, we were fans of Alia Bhatt since her stupendous performance in Highway<\/em>, but would we have ever gotten to know that Bhatt would mistake the Chief Minister of Maharashtra with the President of India<\/u>?<\/a> Or that Emraan Hashmi, an actor whose liplocks made more news than his acting, is one of Bollywood\u2019s most intelligent and opinionated actors<\/u><\/a>?\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nLikewise we\u2019d read and dismissed stories of Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu\u2019s much-publicised catfight on the sets of Ajnabee. <\/em>But it was on the couch of KWK<\/em>, that we got a confirmation. In the show\u2019s second season<\/u><\/a>, Kapoor called John Abraham \u2013 who was then dating Basu \u2013 \u201cexpressionless\u201d and Bipasha Basu, in a later season<\/u><\/a>, claimed that Kapoor \u201chad too many expressions\u201d. At a time when Bollywood goes out of its way to preserve an airbrushed image of its stars, here were two leading actresses shattering the illusion of unrealistic perfection.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nIn fact, the fifth season of KWK<\/em><\/u><\/a> that aired in 2016, arguably the show’s best season, holds a key into the impact of the show on celebrities. In one of the earlier seasons, when Sonam Kapoor made an appearance with Deepika Padukone<\/u><\/a>, the two actresses redefined the idea of celebrity gossip by dishing out nuggets about Ranbir Kapoor\u2019s prowess in the boyfriend department. It was an episode that reiterated KWK\u2019s <\/em>no-holds-barred approach, revealing a side of the actresses we hardly imagined. Just like the episode<\/u><\/a> with Salman, Arbaaz, and Sohail Khan. Salman\u2019s devil-may-care attitude is no secret, but what stood out was the rarely seen camaraderie among the brothers: There was love, respect, and lots of leg pulling.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nBut the best revelation last season was undoubtedly Mrs Funnybones aka Twinkle Khanna\u2019s appearance with her husband Akshay Kumar<\/u><\/a>. As was expected, Khanna didn\u2019t mince her words, even cracking jokes at Johar\u2019s expense. But her sharpest blow was reserved for her husband: Khanna revealed that her relationship with Kumar started off as a fling, leaving Kumar speechless. Who\u2019d have guessed that it was possible for the Box Office Khiladi to get this embarrassed?\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nIt makes you wonder, if there was no KWK<\/em>, how would we ever have known that we didn\u2019t just have to idolise our favourite Bollywood stars \u2013 we could get to know them too. This weekend, you have the chance to know them once again, on Koffee With Karan<\/em> on Hotstar. We\u2019re settling down with a giant tub of popcorn.\n\n\u00a0\n\n\"\"\n\nBinge watch all five seasons of Koffee with Karan on Hotstar<\/u><\/a>.<\/strong>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost 14 years ago, writer-director-producer, Karan Johar did the unthinkable: He brought our favourite Bollywood stars from the big screen, straight into our living rooms. Rarely have our stars been as relatable as they have been on Koffee With Karan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":3508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[1589,1096,141,1795,240,1036,1207,462,2708,1161],"class_list":["post-3497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-akshay-kumar","tag-alia-bhatt","tag-bollywood","tag-hotstar","tag-karan-johar","tag-koffee-with-karan","tag-saif-ali-khan","tag-salman-khan","tag-shahrukh-khan","tag-varun-dhawan"],"yoast_head":"\nReaching For the Stars: How Koffee With Karan Got us Closer to Bollywood<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Almost 14 years ago, writer-director-producer, Karan Johar did the unthinkable: He brought our favourite Bollywood stars from the big screen, straight into our living rooms. 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