Karan Johar reveals why he unfollowed Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt and other celebs — here’s what he actually said

Filmmaker Karan Johar hit the headlines after netizens spotted that he unfollowed multiple celebs on Instagram. This included even his close friends from the industry, such as Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri Khan, Alia Bhatt, Ananya Panday, Manish Malhotra, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal and others. However, he was still following Priyanka Chopra.

Karan Johar on unfollowing celebs on Instagram

Amid speculations around his rare move, Karan Johar stepped up to reason. He clarified that he was on a 'digital detox.'

Taking to his Instagram Stories, Johar wrote, “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 god's sake... please clickbait something else! This is irrelevant.”

Who is he following now

When last checked, the filmmaker was following only 74 accounts on Instagram, including Priyanka Chopra, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Hemsworth, Adar Poonawalla, Natasha Poonawalla, DJ Snake, David Beckham, Sabyasachi, Apple TV, Channing Tatum, Mandy Moore, Will Smith, Ellen DeGeneres and others.

He is also following multiple Dharma accounts and CEO Apoorva Mehta.

On the other hand, reportedly Ananya Panday, Sara Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal still follow Karan Johar on the photo-sharing app.

However, Live Mint couldn't independently verify the claims.

Panday, along with Lakshya Lalwani, recently starred in Karan Johar's film Chand Mera Dil.

Karan Johar did it again

However, this isn't Karan Johar's first digital detox. In June 2020, he unfollowed hundreds of accounts on Twitter, now X. He followed only 8 accounts at that time, including four Dharma accounts and CEO Apoorva Mehta.

But back in that time, he followed Shah Rukh, one of his closest friends, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now, he isn't active on Twitter anymore.

Manish Malhotra hosts birthday bash for Karan Johar

Earlier this month, Karan Johar turned 54 on May 25. Manish Malhotra hosted a celebrity-studded night at his place to mark the occasion. The bash was attended by stars like Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Zoya Akhtar, Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra, and others.

Manish Malhotra also penned a warm message for Johar on Instagram. Dropping pictures from Johar's Met Gala debut, the designer wrote, "This video is about the showstopper appearance of Karan at The Met Gala 2026, but it also shows our friendship and our comfort working together for 30 years—many super-hit films, many meals and travels together, and discussions of films and life and all the most important red-carpet appearances. We have been candid and honest with each other. Happy birthday, dearest @karanjohar. I cherish our friendship, and we celebrate it every day. Lots and lots of love to you, and I wish you only the best."

In the work front, Karan Johar made a directorial comeback with Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh. Last week, his most recent release, Chand Mera Dil, starring Ananya Panday and Lakshya was released. It is backed by Dharma Productions.