Explained: Why Shah Rukh Khan Fans Are Furious With Kajol

Asked what question she would pose to SRK, Kajol replied: "How much did Pathaan really make?"

Kajol, real and unfiltered, has offended fans of her frequent collaborator Shah Rukh Khan by joking about the box office performance of his film Pathaan. Kajol, who has been on publicity duty for web-series The Trial in the past couple of weeks, was asked in a chat with Live Hindustan what question she would pose to SRK. "What will I ask him? Sab toh hai uska social media pe (he shares everything on social media)," she responded, adding the zinger: "How much did Pathaan really make?" For context, Pathaan opened the year with an almighty bang, shooting to the top of Bollywood charts as its biggest earner of all time. I never liked #Kajol post Dilwale..Also don't like those SRKians who unnecessary hyping SRK-Kajol Jodi on SM..#SRK have way better chemistry with Rani Mukherjee, Juhi, Preity Zinta, Karishma, Madhuri, Aishwarya, Kareena for that matter... So today twitter hating on Kajol because of a tweet from KRK?Kajol has always cracked unfunny jokes she is a crazy girl.Doesnt mean you start dpubting jer intentions or friendship with SRK or bring any hate for her.🤦🏻‍♀️ https://t.co/sww5AOdthJ

Perhaps Kajol was joking, perhaps she truly unconvinced by box office reports about Pathaan. Whichever it was, Kajol's comment – made two weeks ago – would have flown under the radar had controversial self-styled film critic Kamaal R Khan or KRK not amplified it over the weekend. KRK tweeted the clip of Kajol's comment, theorizing that it had been influenced by her husband Ajay Devgn. "Kajol is making fun of Pathaan business. Means Ajay must be discussing with her at home that SRK has given fake collections. This is the real face of Bollywood," KRK wrote.

It set off a storm in a tweet cup. Fans of Shah Rukh Khan were outraged by Kajol's implication that Team Pathaan had inflated its reported earnings. It should be noted that Pathaan was produced by Yash Raj Films and, as such, SRK could have had no part in the number crunching. Even so, Shah Rukh Khan fans went into overdrive accusing Kajol of being jealous; others declared they had never liked the SRK-Kajol screen pairing – considered iconic by most. Kajol and SRK have been a favourite filmy jodi in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Baazigar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai – but according to some tweets, their appeal has been overstated.