Actor Varun Dhawan has apologised for his “nepotism rocks” act at the Iifa Awards in New Jersey, which created a stir over social media last week.
Dhawan, son of veteran filmmaker David Dhawan, along with filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Saif Ali Khan, sparked the controversy over the nepotism debate at the awards gala. Later, all three of them received flak on social media with people calling their act “disappointing”.
“I express my apology and regret... I am extremely sorry if I have offended or hurt anyone with that act,” Dhawan tweeted on Tuesday.
Johar and Khan, who were hosting the gala, revisited the much-talked about nepotism issue that started in Bollywood when actress Kangana Ranaut branded Johar as a “flagbearer of nepotism” on his chat show Koffee With Karan.
When Dhawan joined the two actors on stage at the Metlife Stadium to receive the award for Best Performance in a Comic Role for Dishoom, Khan joked that the actor had made it big in the industry because of his father.
“You are here because of your papa,” Saif quipped.
Dhawan said: “And you’re here because of your mummy [veteran actress Sharmila Tagore].”
Johar then promptly added: “I am here because of my papa [late filmmaker Yash Johar].”
They then said in unison: “Nepotism rocks”.
