Mumbai:
The box office battle between Ajay Devgn’s “Shivaay” and Karan Johar’s “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” has got dirty with Kamaal R Khan purportedly alleging that he was paid Rs 25 lakh by the latter to tweet against “Shivaay”.
“Shivaay” and “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” will be clashing at the box office this Diwali.
An audio has surfaced where film maker Kamaal R Khan is heard confessing that Karan paid him to tweet against Ajay’s “Shivaay”. The audio, however, is not verified. It was recorded by Kumar Mangat Pathak, producer and Ajay’s business associate.
Devgn issued a statement on Thursday evening demanding investigation to find if Karan had paid KRK.
“I have been a part of the Indian film industry for the past 25 years and have been associated with over 100 films. My father was a professional action director and I have emotional connection with this industry,” Ajay said in a statement in Mumbai.
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Ajay Devgn paid me to bash 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', says infamous film critic KRK
“It therefore pains me to see that people like Kamaal R Khan are holding the film industry to ransom by spreading negativity about films to extort money from producers,” he said.
“It is very sad that people from our own industry are supporting such elements and spoiling the ethos of industry. I would strongly demand that this be thoroughly investigated by competent authorities to clarify if Karan Johar was indeed involved in this,” Ajay added.
So far there is no statement from the Johar camp on the allegations.
Meanwhile, KRK took to Twitter and slammed Devgn and his team. “I say thanks to Ajay Devgn and Kumar Mangat for giving me licence to destroy their... film #Shivaay..” he tweeted.
KRK further tweeted that he will release his “reply video” once he gets to hear the alleged taped conversation.
Listen to the audio here:
