Filmmaker Karan Johar issued a statement on Saturday saying that he does not consume any narcotic substances or promote or encourage their use. He also dismissed reports claiming that two people questioned by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) regarding the link to drugs in the death of Sushant Singh Rajput are his “close associates.”
Johar’s name emerged from Bollywood’s alleged drug ties to politician Manjinder Singh Sirsa, renewing his claims that a ‘drug party’ was held at the director’s residence in July last year. The director-producer, however, dismissed the allegations as unfounded and untrue.
“In view of the current malicious campaign. I reiterate that the allegations are completely unfounded and false. No narcotic substance was used at the party. I WOULD LIKE TO DECLARE ONCE AGAIN IN A UNEQUAL WAY THAT I DO NOT CONSUME NARCOTICS AND I DO NOT PROMOTE OR ENCOURAGE THE CONSUMPTION OF SUCH SUBSTANCE, “he said in a statement on Instagram.
Johar also stated, “Various media / news channels have been broadcasting news reports that Kshitij Prasad and Anubhav Chopra are my close associates / collaborators. I would like to put on the record that I do not know these people and that neither of these two people are “helpers” or “close helpers”. NEITHER I, NOR DHARMA PRODUCTIONS, CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT PEOPLE DO IN THEIR PERSONAL LIVES. THESE ALLEGATIONS DO NOT REFER TO PRODUCTS OF DHARMA. ”
His clarification comes in the context of the film’s executive producer Kshitij Ravi Prasad and assistant director Anubhav Chopra being questioned by NCB regarding the drug link in the Rajput’s death on June 14.
Johar wrote that Chopra was not an employee of Dharma Productions and was only briefly associated with them for two months as a second assistant director on a film between November 2011 and January 2012 and then as an assistant director on a short film in January 2013 .
Prasad, Johar said, joined Dharma Productions’ sister company, Dharmatic Entertainment, in November 2019 as one of the bases of the contract for a project that ultimately did not materialize.
Prasad and Chopra’s name came up during questioning of Powai Ankush hotelier Arneja, a suspected drug dealer, who was arrested by NCB on September 13. NCB had recovered 42 grams of hashish and Rs1.12 lakh in cash from his home in Powai. Arneja is accused of selling drugs to high-profile people.
With several Bollywood celebrities under the NCB scanner, the central agency has so far questioned actor Rakul Preet Singh, celebrity manager Shruti Modi, former Rajput talent manager Jaya Saha, Deepika Padukone manager Karishma Prakash and al film producer Madhu Mantena, among others. Subpoenas have also been issued to Padukone, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, and fashion designer Simone Khambatta.
Actors Rhea Chakaborty and her brother Showik are among 18 people who have been arrested by NCB in connection with the drug-related angle in Rajput’s death.
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