Back in mid-2018, Karan Johar shared a photograph on Instagram that had the internet buzzing for days, then months. Even today, it remains one of those rare images that everyone has seen, yet few know the story behind. The photograph featured a constellation of Bollywood legends: Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir’s ex-girlfriend, and superstar couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. The group was seated on a couch, appearing to enjoy each other’s company in a rare, intimate gathering.
Now, Karan Johar has finally opened up about the picture during an episode of Sania Mirza’s podcast Serving It Up With Sania. Reflecting on the moment, he said: “This was Ranbir’s birthday, right before pandemic. I think it was emotional day due to reasons to do with his dad’s health (late Rishi Kapoor). But it was also his birthday and we just landed up to wish him and everybody whom we called, they just came. Because it was also an emotional day. And then we took this picture and it went fully viral.”
He further reflected on the magnitude of the gathering, noting the rare assembly of talent: “Just look at the cast it has. It is a mega cast. I don’t think so actors like this can ever come together. I think so after Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie, this is not a selfie but it is one for the books.”
When Karan originally shared the image on Instagram, he captioned it, “The biggest BLOCKBUSTER ever!!!!!” Seven years later, the post has amassed 875K likes and continues to resurface online, celebrated as a moment when so many icons appeared together in one frame.
On the work front, Karan Johar recently produced Homebound, India’s official entry to the Oscars. Ranbir Kapoor is gearing up for two major releases next year, Ramayan Part 1 and Love & War, which also stars his wife, Alia Bhatt, who herself has another major project, Alpha, slated for release next year. Deepika Padukone is preparing to begin shooting her next film with Allu Arjun, directed by Atlee, while Ranveer Singh will release Dhurandhar next month.
Meanwhile, the Khans continue to make headlines. Aamir Khan recently delivered a hit with Sitaare Zameen Par, and Shah Rukh Khan will next be seen in King, directed by Siddharth Anand. The first look of the film was unveiled on SRK’s 60th birthday.