The combination of Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt in the opening episode of Koffee with Karan 6’s new season piqued the curiosity of the viewers because of a certain common factor (no prizes for guessing ‘who’ that is). In fact, Karan asks them right at the beginning if they should address the elephant in the room.
“You must address the elephant in the room” said Alia nonchalantly. Deepika retorted by saying, “Don’t make it awkward because it’s not.” For those who have been oblivious to Bollywood gossip, the ‘elephant’ is Alia’s current beau Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika’ex. The two candidly discuss this intertwined dynamic (Deepika’s fiance Ranveer Singh recently shot a film with Alia) with complete abandon. And the same day as the season premiered, Deepika and Ranveer announced their wedding.
Neither of the two have gone on record about their relationship but like Johar says on the show their Instagram profiles say it all. Both of them let their guard down and tease each other about their respective beaus.
Deepika/DP as called by Alia could actually stand for Miss Diplomatic because she rarely lets herself loose, one always sees this poised and proper star. But this time she lets go of her inhibitions as she quizzes Alia about her time spent with Ranbir.
The tone of the show largely remains the same, with Johar delving into the personal lives of the stars. There is an honorary mention of their movies Raazi and Padmaavat setting the box office on fire, but that’s Johar’s way of preparing stars before launching his missiles at them.
The controversial show has definitely mellowed down this season, with the rapid fire being a timid version of what it usually is. Johar has done away with the ‘ranking the actors’ question and the usual snark. Instead the focus is on newer segments like one where actors have to use their social media. It’s a clever move considering the prevalent presence of stars on the online platforms, and reflects our obsession with the tiniest details of their lives.
Watch the trailer of the epsiode here:
The hallmark of the show is the camaraderie between Alia and Deepika, whether it’s singing Channa Mereya together or their banter about who is going to get married first.
There had to be an ‘Alia’ moment like there is in every season and this time was no exception.
Both actors got very competitive while playing the games on the show and that was quite funny to watch.
I wish Johar would go back to his earlier format where the show was primarily about chatting with his guest. Even if it was frivolous, it was good fun, definitely better than stars playing some silly games. He probably wants to keep controversies at bay and sacrifices some of the zing that the show earlier boasted of.