Yaaaaay!  Karan says something!  And it is personal and passionate and well-written and completely serious.  Not his usual “Koffee With Karan” persona, that other side of Karan, the one that comes out when he really cares about something.

So, what can we read between the lines?

There has been some talk about why I have remained silent for the past two weeks.

Okay, that’s nice, getting it out of the way right up front that he was super slow to respond to this.

Today I will clarify that the reason why I have remained silent is because of the deep sense of hurt and a deep sense of pain I felt that a few people would actually believe that I am anti- national and I need to say this and I say it with strength. For me my country comes first and nothing else matters to me but my country.

Okay, I believe this…kind of.  Yes, deep sense of hurt etc. etc.  But he is also a very experienced and savvy businessmen, and I think he could have overcome his hurt if he needed to.  I’m thinking a combination of a deep sense of hurt, and a deep sense that it would be better to wait for this to play out before he said anything.  But the second half, absolutely I believe that he is a patriotic Indian!  Of course he is!  The man puts “Vande Mataram” in every other movie!

I have always felt that the best way to express your patriotism is by spreading love and that is all I have ever tried to do through my work and through my cinema.

Well, that’s consistent.  Karan says that a lot, that his movies are just about love.  It’s also a nice little making himself into the sympathetic underdog move, “why are you picking on me! I just want to spread love!”

When I shot my film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in September to December last year the climate was completely different. The circumstances were completely different. There were efforts made by our government for peaceful relationship with our neighbouring country and I respected those endeavours and efforts then and I respect the sentiments today. I understand the sentiment because I feel the same.

Thank you Karan for pointing out that the Indian government itself was encouraging these kinds of inter-workings just a few months back!  I may have just not run across it, but I feel like that hasn’t really been brought up?  That the film industry is getting all this heat now, but just a few months back the literal party line was cooperation and hands across the border.

Going forward I would like to say that of course I will not engage with talent from the neighbouring country given the circumstance.

Oh Karan!  That’s the big pull quote, that’s what they have been waiting for you to say.  You buried it in the middle of the statement, after reiterating your personal feelings, and that you were just following the national trends as they were a few months back, but it doesn’t matter, that’s the headline everyone is going for.  Even your careful avoidance of the word “Pakistan” doesn’t matter, everyone knows what you meant and most of them are quoting you as saying “Pakistan” anyway.

But with that same energy I beseech you to know one thing. That over 300 Indian people in my crew have put their blood, sweat and tears into my film ADHM and I don’t think it is fair to them to face any kind of turbulence out of other fellow Indians.

Excellent ending, Karan!  Pulling out the biggest argument that everyone from the industry, and even random commentators I see on news articles, can agree with.  The money has already gone to Pakistan.  The Pakistani has already gone to Pakistan.  The only people left to be hurt at this point are Indians.

Oh but wait, he’s still talking!

I respect the Indian army and salute our army for everything they do to protect us and our environment.

Okay, you can never go wrong talking about the army, and after all this whole thing is based on the assumption that a movie with a Pakistani artist is disrespectful to the memory of the soldiers killed in Kashmir.  So nice acknowledgement.  Now the statement is over, right?

I respect them with all my heart and I say I condemn any form of terrorism.

Okay, Karan, not really necessary, but just as you can never go wrong supporting the army, you can never go wrong condemning terrorism either.

Any form, specifically the terrorism that would affect my people, my country and me. I just hope all of you understand the circumstance and situation we are in and respect the fact that we love and respect our country over and above anything else.

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!  Am I reading into something here, or could this be turned on its head to say that the MNS are terrorists?  Repeating “any form”, specifying the terrorism that would “affect my people, my country and me” right after talking about how only Indians would be damaged by a boycott?

I don’t know, I’m not seeing anyone else reading it this way, but that’s what it feels like to me.