Cricketer Hardik Pandya once found himself in the middle of a major controversy, all thanks to a talk show. Back in 2019, Hardik appeared on Karan Johar’s popular chat show ‘Koffee With Karan’ along with fellow cricketer KL Rahul. But things quickly turned sour after Hardik made certain comments that many felt were inappropriate and disrespectful. The backlash was intense. Social media was full of criticism, and the BCCI stepped in, suspending both players from an ODI series against Australia. Esha Gupta’s bold reaction at the timeDuring the same year, Hardik was rumoured to be dating actress Esha Gupta. While neither of them confirmed the relationship back then, the ‘Jannat 2’ actress did not hold back when asked about the controversy. At a public event, when someone asked her what she thought of Hardik’s comments on ‘Koffee With Karan’, the actress quickly distanced herself from him. She said, “Who is the one who told you, he is my friend?”That wasn’t all. Esha went on to criticise Hardik’s remarks by addressing the issue of women being compared to men. She made her point clear, saying, “Firstly, women should not compare themselves with men. We are the best in every respect. I don’t want anyone to feel bad, but why don’t you give birth to a child? We suffer from periods five days every month and even then we have to dance, go to an office, and take care of the children. When you can do all this, you become superior.”Years later, Esha clears the airRecently, Esha once again spoke about the incident in a chat with Siddharth Kannan. “That part didn’t affect me, because we had already stopped talking by then,” she said. Were they ever really dating?There had always been speculation about Esha and Hardik’s relationship. Some reports suggested they were dating, while others called it a short fling. But now, Esha has finally spoken openly about what really happened between them.The ‘Raaz 3’ actress explained in same chat that although they were talking for a while, it never turned into a full relationship. “Yeah, for some time we were talking. I don’t think we were dating, but yeah, we were talking for a couple of months. We were at that ‘maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t’ stage. It ended before we even reached the dating stage. So it wasn’t dating-dating. We met once or twice, that’s it. So yeah, as I said, it was a couple of months and then it ended,” she said.Could it have worked out?When asked if there was a real chance of something more happening between them, Esha was honest. She admitted that it might have worked, but it just didn’t go that far. “Maybe could have happened,” she said, but explained that timing and compatibility didn’t line up. She added, “There was no drama or bitterness. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
