While Bhatt labelled Bhansali an "overrated filmmaker", Emraan went on to say that Aishwarya Rai is "plastic", Aamir is "boring" and then used the "overrated" adjective for Imran.
A source told Mirror that jaws dropped when the duo gave these damning reviews with a straight face. When contacted, Bhatt retorted, "Does this nation have no sense of humour? Or is the nation awed by their non-existent greatness? Koffee with Karan is a lighthearted show on which you are asked frivolous questions which you are expected to answer honestly. People have an opinion about Emraan and me, ditto for us. But this is all in context of the show."
Mahesh added that he did not spare himself too. "When I was which director's career should be put in the graveyard, I answered 'Mahesh Bhatt', since that's where it had gone 15 years ago. I may have shown irreverence to some people but I have also demolished myself," explained Bhatt.
But isn't the industry sensitive to such remarks? Bhatt pointed out that if the artistes in question are real artistes they won't mind.
"Real artistes are are not in awe of themselves. They demolish themselves before anybody else demolishes them. These comments are not going to be preserved for posterity," he reasoned.
"I hope our opinions are taken in the right spirit. If you are in a public space you should take such comments with a pinch of salt."