Koffee With Karan: Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty Take on the Generation Gap

Nine episodes of Koffee With Karan Season 8 and the exhaustion has begun to set in. The topics of conversation largely remain unvaried: Paparazzi, nepotism, and how the film industry was so much better back in the day. The newest episode sees “dynamic duo” Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty — who have a 33-years-long friendship and have worked on the Golmaal and Singham franchises together — on the Koffee Kouch. There is candour and witty clapbacks, which offer moments of entertainment, but none of the fun revelations for which the show was once notorious (as has been the trend with this season).

In his opening monologue, host Karan Johar confesses that for this episode, he can “let the director out of the closet” and be less of a talk-show host (he said something similar to Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan in Episode 4).  Johar introduces Devgn as an actor “on top of his game” and Shetty as a blockbuster machine, a brand unto himself — the both of them “casually reeling in hundreds of crores at the box office.” (Devgn’s last, Bholaa (2023), has a lifetime collection of around Rs. 80 crore in the Indian Box Office, while Shetty’s last, Cirkus (2022), made less than half that amount.) The pair attempt to make their entry light-hearted by pretending to be spooked by something behind Johar, who is suitably startled and amused by their antics. Shetty sports a boyish grin on his face for a majority of the episode, and seems particularly tickled by Johar’s animated reactions to Devgn’s droll comments. 

They Talk About Nepotism, Again

Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty are nepo-babies (sons of action choreographers Veeru Devgn and M. B. Shetty respectively; Shetty’s mother Ratna was also a stunt artist) who have come into their own over the course of their career: Devgn as the brooding, stolid hero and Shetty as the king of bumbling comedy and explosive action. The three of them (Johar included, of course) reminisce about the past, opening up about their early struggle to make it in the business, despite their famous fathers. When asked about how he felt making his debut on the same day as Yash Chopra’s highly-anticipated Lamhe (1991), Devgn mumbles about going with the flow. The response is laidback, chill; in sync with how we have registered his celebrity persona over the years. 

Addressing Shetty, Johar claims that we live in a time when “everyone wants to make an action film” and “all other genres are taking a backseat” because all the money lies in action. In a year where Pathaan, Jawan and Animal are the highest-grossing films by a considerable margin, we would be hard-pressed to disagree. In fact, Johar himself — who is renowned for his penchant for frothy romance, family drama and deep sentimentality — produced the “brutally violent” Kill, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. 

The nepotism debate feels exceedingly banal; the dead horse has been thrashed beyond recognition, and all that had to be said has already been said. But the topic continues to loom large over Johar and his talk-show. Devgn, who prefaces his diatribe about nepotism with an “I’m sorry to say, but”, talks at length about how people don’t realise how hard the older generations worked to get to where they did. Johar chimes in that his father (prolific producer Yash Johar) would laugh if he knew that his son was called the “flag-bearer of nepotism”, because Johar Sr. worked very hard indeed. It appears that the fundamental definition of the word ‘nepotism’ continues to evade Bollywood’s elite — as evidenced by director Zoya Akhtar, who recently defended the casting of The Archies by claiming that it’s not nepotism when she’s using her own money to put whomever she wants in her films. Devgn goes on to talk about how he has seen people get ruined by failure, and that it's hard to get opportunities, whether you're in the industry or not — “The struggle is the same for everyone,” it is philosophically concluded. Shetty is conspicuously silent in this segment, Devgn often speaking on his behalf — but fret not, he will have his moments in the next.

Back in the Good Old Days

This season, Johar seems to be leaning excessively into nostalgia, repeatedly asking his guests about the Hindi film industry of yore. Devgn waxes poetic about how there used to be a warmth and camaraderie in the film fraternity, and compliments would flow like water, even between rival superstars. When asked what he thinks about the newer generation of actors, Shetty says that they are too insecure, and need too much validation from social media: “They overthink a lot.” Johar points out that many of them don’t have the security to do two- and three-hero films, while Devgn goes further by saying that they don’t even have the security to do solo films. If anyone has a clue about which new-age actors they are verbally sub-tweeting here, we would love to know. As it is, this segment feels rather like a trio of boomers talking about the “kids these days".

In case you were worried about any hiccups in the Devgn-Shetty friendship, you can rest assured that the duo have a perfectly solid, stress-free relationship, even when it comes to their professional life. Shetty divulges a pearl of wisdom that Anupam Kher bestowed on him when Cirkus flopped: “It's the event that fails. It's not you.” Shetty’s frank introspection about his work is perhaps the most compelling aspect of this episode. He says that even though the film was made during the pandemic, he does not want to use that as an excuse for why Cirkus didn’t work. He acknowledges that it didn’t work because he as a director went wrong somewhere along the way. The failure didn’t affect him for too long, though; Shetty was shooting for his web-series (the upcoming Indian Police Force) three days later. “People don't want all this from us,” is the epiphany he had after Cirkus’s poor performance. “Just blow up cars. Do your thing,” he says with a laugh. The self-awareness is refreshing.

Mentors and Middle-Class Values

A grizzled Devgn, too, offers his own sage advice to not take oneself very seriously. When asked about the paparazzi hounding his family, especially his daughter Nysa, Devgn is resigned: “We don't like it. But we can't change it. So you live with it.” He lets us know that Nysa is not interested in entering the film industry anytime soon, although that could change in the future. Shetty, on the other hand, says that his son is raring to be in the movies. Johar immediately, casually assumes that Shetty’s son will work with him. Shetty jokes (or maybe he’s being serious, we’re not sure) that he will take his son’s car back and make sure he goes through the requisite struggle to reach his office. There is much talk about humble backgrounds and family values. “We are all middle-class,” Devgn declares. “At home, we're completely middle-class. Our values are middle-class.” 

Circling back to the newer generation of actors, Johar bravely suggests that no one has friends these days. (In Episode 5 of this season, when Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra turned his own buzzer on him, Johar struggled to name three of his own friends.) “Now no one has anyone to guide them,” laments Devgn, as he looks back at his great mentors, from Kuku Kohli to Amrish Puri. Later, Devgn is cheekily asked how he handles Ranveer Singh (the two are working together in Shetty’s Singham Again). About his younger co-star, Devgn says, “Either I shut him up or I shut my ears.”

Devgn also makes the customary wife-jokes about Kajol being loud and loquacious. They are polar opposites — she loves to click pictures, he hates posing for them — and yet somehow, they work. Through it all, Shetty has an impish grin on his face. 

Games, Gossip and “Ghanta”

Unlike every other guest this season, Devgn and Shetty are actually good at the Bollywood quiz. And unlike Aditya Roy Kapur and Arjun Kapoor in the previous episode, it doesn’t get uncomfortably competitive, as both Devgn and Shetty graciously concede points to each other. Shetty erupts in peals of laughter over the absurd film names in the ‘Guess the Fake Movie’ round, including titles like “Mard Mera Hai Loser, Nahi Khareedta Juicer” and “Biwi Tumhare Bachche Hamare”. Shetty answers the name of Kajol’s debut film before Devgn, who admits that he doesn’t remember names. Tuffy from Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) makes another appearance, as he has in every iteration of the Bollywood quiz this season. It’s baffling that there are some Koffee With Karan guests who are still clueless about the poor dog’s name.

The Rapid Fire kicks off with probably the spiciest moment of the show, with Devgn claiming that once upon a time, Johar was his sworn enemy. At this accusation, Johar purses his lips in shock, and puts a hand gingerly over his mouth as he pretends to choke; Shetty is in hysterics, and Devgn looks vaguely smug. He goes on to say that he would love to have Salman Khan’s single status, and that he is still waiting for the day Kajol doesn’t talk to him. During his turn, Shetty says that critics never have anything good to say about him: “They’re always rude to me.” Shetty also admits that recreating old songs is an easy way to promote a film. When suggested that “films should make you think”, Shetty exclaims: “Ghanta! Films are there to entertain. Nobody remembers the film or the story after a point.” 

Devgn wins the Rapid Fire (which Shetty thinks he deserved for that first answer alone), with Johar clearing the air about their old altercation and reassuring us that everyone’s moved on now. The episode, which showcases Devgn and Shetty’s easy rapport, ends on a buoyant note. Johar, who says that he feels like he’s “learnt a lot today”, slides in a final round of product placement by requesting a selfie on the new Google phone, which uses the best take and can “fix” the faces of the people in the photo. Johar exhibits this feature by changing the expressions of Devgn and Shetty, but leaving his own remarkable pout untouched.