The Koffee With Karan couch is being retired. Karan Johar announced on Wednesday that the upcoming ninth season will be the show’s last. It premieres on JioHotstar on 14 October, ending a run that began in 2004.
In an Instagram video, Johar called it more an emotional message than a professional announcement. DesiBlitz reports he also said he wants to focus on directing more films. According to Johar, he often gets asked when the next season is coming, but rarely about his next feature. In a statement, he acknowledged the show’s fair share of controversy.
Before the final cup, here are the moments that defined the show.
1. Kangana Ranaut calls Karan the “flag bearer of nepotism” (Season 5)
The remark that changed the show’s legacy. Kangana appeared with her Rangoon co-star Saif Ali Khan, and according to Gulf News she branded Johar the “flag bearer of nepotism,” leaving the director speechless. Andhravilas adds that she said his rejection and mockery had driven her career, and that if she made a biopic, he would play the insider who looks down on outsiders. The exchange set off a national debate about privilege and insider culture in Bollywood.
2. “Nepotism rocks!”
Johar answered the accusation with a joke. Later the same year, he mocked it on stage at an awards show with Varun Dhawan and Saif Ali Khan, and the three said “Nepotism rocks!” The backlash was immediate. Critics read it as dismissing the criticism rather than answering it.
3. Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul’s episode (Season 6)
The biggest crisis in the show’s history. In the 2019 episode, Gulf News reported, Pandya boasted about his sex life and objectified women, and viewers criticised Rahul and Johar as complicit. Pandya apologised online, saying he got carried away with the nature of the show, but the BCCI was unsatisfied and sent show-cause notices to both players.
The consequences were real. Both were suspended from the national team and fined, and Rahul later said the episode scarred him massively. The episode was taken off air and streaming platforms, and Johar has since said he won’t invite cricketers back.
4. Deepika and Sonam’s remarks on Ranbir Kapoor (Season 3)
When Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor appeared together, both made pointed remarks about Ranbir Kapoor. Sonam said she wasn’t sure he was a good boyfriend, and Deepika, who had been in a relationship with him, said she’d want to gift him a box of condoms. The report says Neetu Kapoor and the late Rishi Kapoor were reportedly upset.
5. Emraan Hashmi’s “plastic” answer (Season 4)
In the rapid-fire round, Emraan Hashmi was asked to name someone from the industry who came to mind when he said “plastic.” He named Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Her fans criticised the remark.
6. Alia Bhatt’s general-knowledge gaffe
Not every controversy was about scandal. Fans recall that Alia Bhatt’s wrong answer in the rapid-fire segment during her debut appearance became a meme that followed her for years.
7. The “Boycott Bollywood” fallout
The nepotism debate outlived the episode. One retrospective says that after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death in 2020, Johar became a focal point of the public debate about nepotism, and the “Boycott Bollywood” sentiment of that period put the show in its crosshairs. That piece is an analysis rather than a news report, and the causes it gives for the show’s changes are its view, not Johar’s.
Bonus: the goodbye that didn’t stick
This is not the first time Johar has said the show was over. After its sixth season, he posted that Koffee With Karan would not be returning. It came back on streaming with its seventh season on Disney+ Hotstar. This time he has called the decision emotional but right, and says the final season is a way of raising the mug one last time.
