SRK and Saif apologise to Vidhu Vinod Chopra

After Chopra complains about cracks made about him at awards event

Some people never seem to take things in the right spirit. After sending a letter to Shah Rukh Khan for trying to take away his prized director Raj Kumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra sent another missive to a leading media house and Sony TV for making fun of him and his film Eklavya at the Filmfare Awards that were held on February 23 at Yash Raj Studios.

Chopra was miffed by the remarks of Shah Rukh and Saif Ali Khan, who hosted the show.

Late response

Says a source, “Vinod was in the US scouting for locations when the event happened. His family watched the awards telecast on March 2 on Sony and were upset.

They informed him about how Saif and Shah Rukh ridiculed him. Vinod was extremely upset.

Ten days ago, Vinod Chopra Films, through a letter, has conveyed to the publication and the channel that they will not participate in the awards or give any material belonging to them unless there is a public apology.

It is a stand that they have taken because they felt the need for it.”

SRK and Saif, however, didn’t receive any letter. The source says, “Saif and Shah Rukh heard that their comment had upset Vinod.

So before he could dash off a letter to them, they called Vinod and personally apologised to them.

At the awards, Shah Rukh and Saif had spared no one — from Yash Chopra to Jodhaa Akbar to Ram Gopal Varma, Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘Na-real’ award was called The Come-back Award since Eklavya — The Royal Guard came back from the Oscars unrecognised.”

Issue solved

Aman Mahajan, associate vice president, marketing and development and spokesperson for Vinod Chopra Films says, “We are not looking for media attention and controversy. We don’t want to waste our time over it.

The actors (Saif and Shah Rukh) have already apologised to Chopra’s family. A letter making our displeasure known has been sent to the publication and channel concerned. Beyond this, there is nothing to say.”

Upala KBR, Mid-Day