New Delhi: After 22 years of the Koffee With Karan couch serving as a manifestation spot for celebrities, host Karan Johar finally got his own moment, making it one of the many notable moments on the episode.
In the second episode of Season 9, Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna joined Karan for the first time to talk about their marriage, career trajectories, and more, with a few entertaining games thrown in.
However, the biggest highlight came when Vijay encouraged the filmmaker to manifest something he truly wanted in his life, leading to one of the show’s most heartwarming moments.
The episode also introduced a few tweaks to Karan’s games, while the guest couple reacted to the now-famous ‘cheese platter’ comment from Season 7.
Here are four highlights from Episode 2 of Koffee With Karan Season 9.
Karan Johar manifests love
While the Koffee couch has witnessed countless celebrity confessions over the years, this time, it was Karan’s turn to share a personal wish. Vijay asked Karan what he would like to manifest while sitting on his couch. Karan expressed his desire to find a partner with whom he could share life’s everyday moments and milestones.
“I would like to have a partner. I would like to be in a relationship.”
While he brushed off the possibility of marriage, the filmmaker wished for someone “who can share the nothings of my day with, somebody who I can celebrate the somethings of my life with, someone who can be an equal parent to my twins who are now ten.”
“Somebody who I can call mine and yet feel loved and respected and also complete my life with me,” he added.
Vijay responded, “Let’s pray to the old gods and the new and the coffee gods and the couch gods to make this happen.”
AI judge and Pictionary make their debut
Games have always been an integral part of Koffee With Karan, with Johar introducing new formats over the years to keep the conversations engaging. This episode was no different, featuring a Pictionary round for the first time and an AI-powered judge for the rapid-fire segment.
During Pictionary, Vijay and Rashmika drew clues, while Karan guessed film titles and celebrity names. Vijay emerged as the clear winner, quickly sketching a flower to hint at Pushpa and biceps to represent Salman Khan.
The episode also introduced an AI bot to judge the rapid-fire round. The tool was tasked with analysing the guests’ answers, comparing their responses, and declaring a winner.
While the AI crowned Vijay the champion, Karan was not entirely convinced. The host dismissed the verdict, saying he would have declared Rashmika the winner if the decision had been his to make.
Also Read: Deverakonda backs Sandeep Reddy Vanga on KWK, says flawed characters are ‘honest’
Vijay reacts to the ‘cheese platter’ comment
During the episode, Karan also brought up the now-famous ‘cheese platter’ comment about Vijay from Season 7. During that episode, Sara Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor had used the phrases ‘cheese platter’ and ‘cheese’ while discussing the actor.
Asked about her reaction to the interaction, Rashmika offered a cheeky defence, saying, “If you don’t like Vijay, then it’s the problem of your eyes.”
The couple also revealed that Rashmika had teased Vijay about being called a “cheese platter” for a long time.
In fact, the actress admitted that she was not particularly fond of cheese before the episode aired. Since then, however, her eating habits have changed. She now enjoys cheese so much that her flights feel incomplete without a cheese platter.
‘Shahrukh-Rashmika’ film?
Rashmika has expressed her desire to share screen space with Shah Rukh Khan.
When Karan asked Rashmika which Bollywood actor she would like to collaborate with next, the actress said, “Would be really interesting to have a Shah Rukh and Rashmika film.”
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)