Karan Johar issued a public apology to Fashion director Madhur Bhandarkar after the latter accused him of twisting the title of his forthcoming film for an upcoming reality series. Bhandarkar had announced "Bollywood Wives" in 2016 and the film project is under development. Johar, meanwhile, has announced a web series production, "Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives". Johar sharing a statement on Twitter wrote, "I humbly apologise for any grievance that has been caused to you during the course of the last few weeks. However, I would want to clarify that we have chosen this new and different title -The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives keeping in mind the non-fiction format of our reality-based franchise series. As our title was distine, I did not foresee it upsetting you as it has and for that I duly apologise.”
He added, “I want to inform you that we have been promoting our series with the hashtag “Fabulous Lives” on all social media platforms, which is the franchise title we intend to go ahead with. We assure you that the format, nature, audience and the title of our series are different and would not in any manner dent or encumber the exploitation of your work.”Accepting Karan Johar's apology, Bhandarkar too shared a note straight-talking note saying although he was upset deeply, he wants to bury the hatchet and move forward. “Dear @KaranJohar. Thank you for your response. This is indeed a close-knit industry and it operates on mutual trust and respect. When we blatantly disregard norms that we ourselves have established, then it makes very little sense calling ourselves a ‘fraternity’,” he wrote adding, “I didn’t hesistate a moment in the past before granting you the title “GUTKA” in 2013, that you had requested from me, and hence I would have expected the same courtesy in return when I declined you the use of a title I had duly registered, and which I did not intend to part with. The fact that you went ahead and used the title anyway despite our conversation and despite it also having been rejected by the trade associations, is what had upset me deeply. This is not how I believe real relationships work. But let’s move forward. I accept your apology and would like to leave things here. I too wish you well in your future endeavours.”
In 2016, Bhandarkar had shared that he was planning to make a film on the lives of Bollywood wives. The National Award-winning filmmaker, known for showcasing real life issues through his films, had thanked Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar for helping him, in this context.Meanwhile, Johar's web series "Fabulous Lives Of Bollywood Wives" chronicles the lives of popular star wives such as Maheep Kapoor, Neelam Kothari, Seema Khan and Bhavana Pandey. It is backed by Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, the digital arm of Dharma Productions.