Mumbai: Filmmaker Karan Johar strongly reacted to a recent video involving General Dyer’s great-granddaughter, Caroline Dyer, during a press conference for his upcoming film ‘Kesari Chapter 2.’
In the film, Akshay Kumar plays lawyer C. Sankaran Nair, the lawyer who fought against General Dyer and the British Empire after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
The video making the rounds on the internet shows Caroline speaking with Raj Kohli, whose great-uncle, Balwant Singh, was a survivor of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. During their interaction, Caroline shockingly referred to Balwant as a “looter.”
When asked by a reporter if he had seen the clip, Karan, who did not hold back his anger, lashed out at Caroline, saying that her comment was not just insensitive but also deeply disrespectful to the victims of one of the darkest chapters in Indian history.
“To answer your question, yes, I have seen that video. Not just as an Indian or humanitarian, but as anyone with even an ounce of empathy and humanity will be angered by that video. I don’t want to mince my words or be diplomatic in my answer, and I certainly won’t beat around the bush when I say how ridiculous it is for her to say that! How dare she! She addressed thousands of victims as looters. They were innocent people who had gathered there for what was supposed to be an auspicious day of Baisakhi, thinking one thing was going to happen, and look what did happen,” the filmmaker said.
Johar went on to say that Dyer himself had admitted that he “only stopped firing when the bullets ran out.”
“And she went on to say in that interview that he loved India and all kinds of things about how he had the greatest compassion. What love can you have in your heart when your actions only speak of hate? The fact that she is in a la-la land of her own, and in some delusion — I don’t know her, nor have I met her, and I don’t wish to meet her,” he added.
Stating that it boils his blood when he comes across that video, Johar said, “The fact that she has even said those things makes me so angry on a humanitarian level. Khoon khaulta hai when I saw that video, knowing that she has such disdain for one of the biggest genocides in the history of our nation and the world. The fact that she was so dismissive of it makes me even angrier and makes me demand an apology even more.”
Meanwhile, the trailer for ‘Kesari Chapter 2’ was released earlier this month, giving fans a glimpse into the emotional and powerful court battle led by Nair. The film also stars Ananya Panday as a law student and R. Madhavan as Neville McKinley.
The first part of the film, Kesari, starred Parineeti Chopra and revolved around the valor of 21 Sikh soldiers in the 1897 battle.
‘Kesari Chapter 2’ is set to release on April 18
