Kamal Ghorui
Veteran actor-writer M M Faruqui, popularly known as Lilliput, has once again expressed his regret over a comment he made decades ago about Karan Johar’s “feminine mannerisms” during the filming of the television show Indradhanush.Johar had earlier written about the incident in his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy, revealing that the remark deeply affected him and made him decide that he would never act again.
‘I told him he was ladki jaisa hai’
Speaking about the episode, Lilliput recalled that he had commented on Johar’s behaviour at the time, describing him as a “ladki jaisa hai” (like a girl). However, he insisted that his intention was never to insult the filmmaker.“What happens with theatre people is that we support each other as artists. If someone is performing a character with me and I think of a good suggestion, I share it. We do this because we want the project to turn out well,” he told Siddharth Kannan.Recalling the moment with Johar, he added, “He was a young boy and I felt he had slightly feminine mannerisms. So I told him, ‘Son, pay a little attention to this. Otherwise, your acting is fine.’ At that time, I wasn’t aware of the psychology around these things.”
‘If I had known it would hurt him, I wouldn’t have said it’
Lilliput said he later realised how deeply the comment had affected Johar after reading about it in his book.“He mentioned it in his book that this man had said such things to him. I feel sorry that it hurt him so much that he wrote about it,” he said.“If I had known that my words could cause such pain, I would never have said it,” he added.The veteran actor also emphasised that the suggestion was made respectfully and in the spirit of helping a fellow performer.“We theatre people are not harsh. When we give suggestions, we do it for someone’s well-being and for the betterment of the project. We behave respectfully with each other because we want the final result to be good,” he said.
‘I will apologise to him if we meet’
Lilliput further said he would apologise to Johar if they ever met in person.“If I meet him, I will say sorry and tell him that my intention was never to hurt or insult him. It is not in my nature to mock anyone. I know how painful it is when someone makes fun of you,” he said.In An Unsuitable Boy, Johar had written that comments about his weight, behaviour and feminine mannerisms during his younger days contributed to his insecurities and eventually led him to stay away from acting.
