MUMBAI: Though no one is likely to say it out in open, the fact is Bollywood’s most celebrated dosti, that between Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar, has gone thanda.
The reason being given for this shocking end to a friendship that seemed shock-proof and impervious to the wear-and-tear of showbiz bonding, is Karan’s growing friendship with Shah Rukh’s wife Gauri .
Says a source very close to Shah Rukh, “Karan was always closer to Gauri. And Shah Rukh never minded that, as he felt having someone as loyal and devoted as Karan – as his wife’s confidant gave Shah Rukh a sense of comfort within his domestic ambience. But of late this ‘advantage’ has proved quite detrimental to Shah Rukh who feels Karan is constantly championing Gauri’s cause, forever fighting her battles and not making any attempt to see Shah Rukh’s point of view.”
Tensions between the two best-friends have apparently boiled over to a point where Shah Rukh is left wondering whose friend Karan really is: Gauri’s or Shah Rukh’s.
The final straw was the entire Priyanka Chopra episode. When strong rumours of a special friendship between Shah Rukh and Priyanka broke out, Karan ganged up with Gauri and her friends to ostracize Priyanka from the inner circle at Shah Rukh’s residence ‘Mannat’ and Dharma Production.
Says our source, “If Priyanka was not invited to any party at Shah Rukh’s place she isn’t being offered any Dharma film either. All because of Karan. This really angered Shah Rukh, as he felt Karan was being more a friend to Gauri than him.”
At the moment we hear Karan and Shah Rukh are no more the inseparable buddies they used to be.
“It isn’t as if they don’t talk. But there is a perceptible friction between them. There is a cutting edge to all their exchanges. We’ve all noticed it. Karan has grown closer to Gauri at this stage. But at the cost of creating a distance with Shah Rukh,” says a regular visitor at the Khans’ residence.
