April 11, 2025: Filmmaker Karan Johar has strongly condemned the recent viral video featuring Caroline Dyer, the great-granddaughter of General Reginald Dyer, the British officer responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Johar’s remarks came during a press conference for his upcoming historical courtroom drama Kesari Chapter 2, which revisits the aftermath of the 1919 massacre and the legal battle led by lawyer C. Sankaran Nair, portrayed by Akshay Kumar in the film.
In the controversial clip, Caroline Dyer is seen in conversation with Raj Kohli, the great-nephew of massacre survivor Balwant Singh. During the exchange, she shockingly referred to Balwant as a “looter” — a statement that has triggered outrage on social media and within the Indian film fraternity.
Reacting to the video, Karan Johar did not hold back.
“To answer your question, yes, I have seen that video,” Johar said. “Not just as an Indian or a humanitarian, but as anyone with even an ounce of empathy and humanity — that video is enraging. I don’t want to mince words or be diplomatic. How dare she! She addressed thousands of innocent victims as looters.”
He continued:
“These were people who gathered on the auspicious day of Baisakhi, expecting peace, not bullets. And Dyer himself admitted he only stopped firing when the bullets ran out.”
Calling Caroline’s remarks “ridiculous” and “delusional,” Johar also addressed her claim that General Dyer “loved India.”
“What love can you have in your heart when your actions speak only of hate?” he asked. “She is in a la-la land of her own. I don’t know her, I’ve never met her — and I don’t wish to.”
Deeply emotional and visibly angry, Johar said the video stirred something visceral within him.
“Khoon khaulta hai (my blood boils) when I saw that video,” he said. “Her dismissiveness toward one of the darkest genocides in Indian — and world — history is shocking. I demand an apology.”
Meanwhile, Johar’s Kesari Chapter 2 shines a spotlight on India’s legal resistance to British rule following the massacre. The film follows C. Sankaran Nair’s landmark court case against the British Empire. The trailer, released earlier this month, teases a powerful courtroom drama filled with emotion and defiance. The film also stars Ananya Panday as a law student and R. Madhavan as opposing lawyer Neville McKinley.
The original Kesari (2019) focused on the Battle of Saragarhi and the bravery of 21 Sikh soldiers. The sequel takes the narrative into the legal and emotional aftermath of British atrocities in colonial India.
Kesari Chapter 2 is scheduled to hit theatres on April 18.