Varun, son of veteran filmmaker David Dhawan, along with filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Saif Ali Khan, sparked the controversy over the nepotism debate at the awards gala. Later, all three of them received flak on social media with twitteraties calling their act "disappointing".
"I express my apology and regret... I am extremely sorry if I have offended or hurt anyone with that act," Varun tweeted on Tuesday.
I express my apology and regret .. I am extremely sorry if I have offended or hurt anyone with that act..
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) July 18, 2017
Performing at #NewYorkCity iifa was an amazing experience. Inspired and humbled and sorry if I let anyone down. ❤️ #onelove
— Varun Dhawan (@Varun_dvn) July 17, 2017
Karan and Saif, who were hosting the gala, revisited the much-talked about nepotism issue that started in Bollywood when actress Kangana Ranaut branded Karan as a "flagbearer of nepotism" on his chat show "Koffee With Karan".
When Varun joined the two actors on stage at the Metlife Stadium to receive the Best Performance in a Comic Role for "Dishoom", Saif joked that the actor had made it big in the industry because of his father.
"You are here because of your papa," Saif quipped.
Varun said: "And you're here because of your mummy (veteran actress Sharmila Tagore)."
Karan then promptly added: "I am here because of my papa (late filmmaker Yash Johar)."
They then said in unison: "Nepotism rocks".
Later on, a string of criticism followed over Twitter, describing what the personalities said was unfunny and joking about Kangana in her absence was unfair.
