Veteran actor and writer MM Farooqi, popularly known as Lilliput, has once again expressed his regret over a comment he made decades ago about Karan Johar’s “feminine antics” while filming TV show Indradhanush. Johar had previously written about the incident in his autobiography ‘Inappropriate Boy’, revealing that the remark affected him deeply and made him decide that he would never act again.
Veteran actor and writer MM Farooqi, popularly known as Lilliput, has once again expressed his regret over a comment he made decades ago about Karan Johar’s “feminine antics” while filming TV show Indradhanush.Johar had previously written about the incident in his autobiography ‘Inappropriate Boy’, revealing that the remark affected him deeply and made him decide that he would never act again.
“I told him it was ladki jaisa hai.”
Speaking about the episode, Lilliput noted that he commented on Johar’s behavior at the time, calling him “ladki jaisa hai” (like a girl). However, he insisted that his intention was never to insult the director.“What happens with theater people is that we support each other as artists.
If someone is playing a character with me and I think of a good suggestion, I share it. “We are doing this because we want the project to go well,” he told Siddharth Kannan.Recalling the moment with Johar, he added: “He was a young boy and I felt that he had some feminine behaviors. So I told him: Son, pay a little attention to this. Otherwise, your acting is good.” At the time, I wasn’t aware of the psychology surrounding these things.
Lilliput apologizes to Karan Johar: I told him that he had feminine gestures and I never meant to hurt him
“If I knew it would hurt him, I wouldn’t have said that.”
Lilliput said he later realized how deeply the comment affected Johar after reading about it in his book.He said: “He mentioned in his book that this man said such things to him. I feel sorry that it hurt him so much that he wrote about it.”He added: “If I had known that my words could cause such pain, I would never have said that.”The veteran actor also stressed that the proposal was made with respect and in the spirit of helping his colleague.“We thespians are not cruel. When we make suggestions, we do it for someone’s well-being and for the betterment of the project. We act respectfully to each other because we want the end result to be good,” he said.
“I will apologize to him if we meet.”
Lilliput also said that he would apologize to Gohar if they met in person.He said: “If I meet him, I will apologize and tell him that my intention was never to hurt or insult him. It is not in my nature to make fun of anyone. I know how painful it is when someone makes fun of you.”In Unsuitable Boy, Johar wrote that comments about his weight, behavior and feminine mannerisms during his younger days contributed to his feelings of insecurity and eventually led him to turn away from acting.
