Television actor Gaurav Khanna, who recently took home the title in the debut season of ‘Celebrity MasterChef’, has finally addressed the controversy surrounding his win. During his stint on the reality cooking show, the ‘Anupamaa’ star was accused of copying a dessert created by Swiss chef Dives Josh. Speaking on Siddharth Kannan’s podcast, Gaurav responded to the claims, crediting Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna for shutting down the criticism effectively.
Gaurav Khanna on plagiarism allegations
When asked about the allegations of plagiarism, Gaurav said, “I used to do all the research. I heard in an interview once that Shah Rukh Khan copies Dilip Kumar, and Bachchan sahab also emulates Dilip sahab. I also heard that Raj Kapoor sahab used to emulate Charlie Chaplin. Kya yeh karne se inn sabki value kam hogayi? So again, logon ka kaam hai kehna. It’s how you produce and make it your own in a way nobody does. What will I answer?”
Gaurav Khanna on Vikas Khanna’s stand for him
He added that it was chef Vikas Khanna, an eight-time Michelin star recipient and a judge on the show, who addressed the issue during the competition itself. “My reply has been given by eight-time Michelin star winner, chef Vikas Khanna. I didn’t ask him to say anything, and I didn’t answer myself during the entire controversy at all. My work was to make a good dish and that’s what I did. It got announced as the best dish, went viral, and I got a lot of accolades for that. Some people said that it is inspired from somewhere, but then Chef Vikas said that he saw the dish many years ago. So no one can say who is inspired by whom.”
Gaurav thanks Vikas Khanna
The actor also noted that he’s relatively new to the culinary world, having taken it up seriously only a few months ago. Expressing his gratitude and pride, Gaurav said, “I am an insignificant, normal human being who is making food since three months. He (Vikas Khanna) put an end to this segment in such a good way. So jab Dronacharya ne khud jawaab dedia hai, toh Arjun kyu jawaab de? I like my work to speak and my work says that I have won MasterChef. I really worked hard on it. I am very proud of winning this show. It is my first reality show. This is something which I never expected.”
