Bollywood director-choreographer Farah Khan has landed in controversy after a comment she made on the cooking reality show Celebrity MasterChef went viral. During one of the recent episodes, Farah remarked that Holi is the 'favourite' festival of 'chhapris', a slang often used to describe rowdy young men.
As soon as videos of her statement surfaced online, social media erupted with criticism. Many users slammed her for generalising and demanded an apology, while some even called for action to be taken against her.
On the other hand, a section of netizens defended her, arguing that she wasn't entirely wrong, as incidents of intoxicated men harassing women during Holi have been widely reported over the years across the country.
On Celebrity MasterChef, while having a conversation with contestant Gaurav Khanna, Farah turned towards the camera and stated, "Chhapri logo ka favourite festival hota hai holi."
Netizens react to Farah Khan's Holi comment
Recently, self-proclaimed film critic and actor-filmmaker Kamaal R Khan shared the news on X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "Farah Khan called those people Chapri, who do celebrate HOLI."
Reacting to his post, a user wrote, "So as per @TheFarahKhan, even @iamsrk is a chhapri since he celebrates Holi every year at his bungalow."
On the other hand, another user stated that Farah's statement is misunderstood as she did not call everyone who celebrates Holi a 'Chhapri' and only said that it is their 'favourite' festival.
"I think you are misinterpreting it Boys play Holi very freely, that's why she is calling them Chapri because there is no one to stop them," read a comment.
Here's how others reacted to Farah's statement:
Farah has not reacted to the controversy yet. She is currently seen on Celebrity MasterChef with chefs Ranveer Brar and Vikas Khanna as judges.
Besides Gaurav, Usha Nadkarni, Tejasswi Prakash, Archana Gautam, Dipika Kakar Ibrahim, Rajiv Adatia, Nikki Tamboli, Faisal Shaikh aka Mr. Faisu, and Kabita Singh are seen as contestants.