Karan Johar’s Instagram following list turned into Bollywood’s most scrutinised scroll after fans noticed that several close industry names were no longer on it. Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Manish Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Malaika Arora and Ananya Panday were among the names flagged by social media users, sparking instant chatter about equations inside the industry.
The filmmaker, however, moved quickly to shut down the noise. Rather than allowing the conversation to spiral into fallout theories, Karan framed the move as a personal reset from the platform.
Karan Johar Clarifies Instagram Unfollow Spree
Karan addressed the speculation through an Instagram Story, writing, “It’s a DIGITAL DETOX!!!! Am unfollowing everyone to reduce my time and energy spent on the gram!!! This can’t be national news for gods sake… please clickbait something else! This is irrelevant!”
The clarification came after users noticed that Karan was following only 78 accounts despite having more than 17 million followers. While several Bollywood names were no longer visible on his following list, Priyanka Chopra, Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta and business associate Adar Poonawalla remained among the notable accounts he continued to follow.
The chatter gained attention because Karan has long been one of Hindi cinema’s most visible personalities online, using Instagram for family moments with Yash and Roohi, fashion posts, travel updates and professional announcements.
Karan Johar And His Social Media Equation
Karan has previously opened up about how online negativity affected him. During an earlier interaction at We The Women Asia, he recalled a hurtful comment about being a single parent. “When they said that, ‘Do you realise that you deprived your children of a mother?’, and that broke my heart. That made me feel like, for the first time, I questioned my decision of being a single parent. When my kids ask me where they came from, I said to them: ‘You came from Dada’s heart’. A story I couldn’t take very far because now they know the biology of it. But I believe very strongly that I can be more than a single parent, I can be their mother, their father, their everything,” he said.
He added, “But that comment made me question or second-guess my decision for a beat, and after I read that comment, I had a moment where I broke down sitting in my room and I just cried.”
In 2022, Karan also left X, then Twitter, and wrote, “Making space for more positive energies only and this is step one towards that. Goodbye Twitter!”
Karan Johar’S Recent And Upcoming Work
Karan continues to drive Dharma Productions across theatrical and streaming spaces. The banner’s recent releases included Yodha, Mr. & Mrs. Mahi, Bad Newz and Jigra in 2024, followed by Kesari Chapter 2, Sarzameen, Dhadak 2, Homebound and Chand Mera Dil in 2025 and 2026.
Dharma’s confirmed upcoming slate includes Naagzilla, starring Kartik Aaryan, Ravi Kishan and Preity Mukhundhan. Directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba, the fantasy comedy has been listed for a theatrical release in 2027.
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