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Home » Life & Society » You know him as Farah Khan's husband. But on Twitter, Shirish Kunder is a hero
 

You know him as Farah Khan's husband. But on Twitter, Shirish Kunder is a hero

Lamat R Hasan | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:51 IST
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He's sharp, witty and unapologetic. Shirish Kunder on Twitter is what we wish all of Bollywood was
Shirish Kunder is hated by Modi Bhakts. Here's what he did to earn that hate

Till a few years ago, the name Shirish Kunder would have drawn a blank with most. Unless you were a devout Bollywood FAN, in which case it would have translated as the much-younger husband of filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan.

Read:Smriti Irani vs Barkha Dutt Twitter battle: Who is lying here?

Then 2012 arrived and with it, the slap that earned Kunder a place in public consciousness: Shah Rukh allegedly slapped him at a party. No-one is certain what provoked King Khan, but many believe it was a tweet by Kunder: "

I just heard a Rs 150 crore firework fizzle".

That comment was obviously on Shah Rukh's recently-released Ra One. But it signalled a dramatic shift in Kunder's profile.

From thereon Kunder, who describes himself as writer, producer, director, editor and composer on Twitter, stopped being just Farah Khan's husband and father to triplets - Czar, Anya and Diva.

He became the sharp, quick-witted man Farah Khan had married. The man who would spare no one.

Not Shah Rukh Khan. Not Anupam Kher. Not Narendra Modi.

No surprise then that he soon became a particular peeve of Modi bhakts.

As 2015 drew to a close, it seemed like the bhakts had found a way to get even, after all.

A tweet that never was, was cunningly attributed to Shah Rukh Khan: "Who is this Shirish Kunder? Visited Farah's home several times, never found him. Always found a male maid with smartphone in hand always. #BlockShirishKunder LOL".

The hashtag went on to trend. And for a while, it was believed Shrish Kunder was over. Except most of Twitter saw through what they realised was a fake tweet.

In the Here & Now


Seven years on, with 3712 tweets and over 2,62,000 followers, Kunder has finely honed his Twitter persona. Never going for the kill, yet always clued in. And bang on time.

Also read: Modi follows rivals on Twitter, and the #Bhakts are crestfallen

Mostly, he uses the platform to showcase his sense of humour, but even off-the-cuff remarks show he's done his homework.

Some samples from Kunder's twitter feed:

A remarkable range

It's not just public figures - the quirks and obsessions of everyday life are also on his radar. From Indo-Pak relations to the importance of reducing one's carbon footprint, he casts his eye far and wide.

On their eleventh marriage anniversary a few months ago, Farah Khan tweeted: "Happy 11th anniversary @Shirishkunder... only thing better than having u as a husband, is our kids having u as a dad!"

His reply: "11 years! And they say there's no tolerance," not only made a pithy comment on both marriage and a hotly debated public issue, it also showed the world why Farah fell for a man few had heard of; and that maybe, it was our loss we hadn't yet heard of Shirish Kunder.

Edited by Payal Puri

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First published: 4 May 2016, 7:54 IST
Lamat R Hasan Twitter Farah Khan Bollywood filmmaker director writer bhakts Narendra Modi Anupam Kher
 
Lamat R Hasan @LamatAyub

Bats for the four-legged, can't stand most on two. Forced to venture into the world of homo sapiens to manage uninterrupted companionship of 16 cats, 2 dogs and counting... Can read books and paint pots and pay bills by being journalist.

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