Rajdeep Sardesai has faced humiliation on live television once again. On December 14, during a debate on India Today where former Indian Captain Sunil Gavaskar was a panellist, he told Rajdeep it would not matter if Sardesai would not agree with him as he would not lose sleep over it. The debate was about the alleged rift between cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli that has been making rounds the whole day.
Sunny Gavaskar did to Sardardkasai @sardesairajdeep what Mukesh Ambani did to him few years back. Told him none takes him seriously pic.twitter.com/0ASYLdsyI8
— iMac_too (@iMac_too) December 14, 2021
Towards the end of the debate, when anchor Rahul Kanwal asked Gavaskar what would he suggest to Jay Shah and Saurav Ganguly about handling the situation, he said it would be better if they both ignored it. He added that it could be just a rumour as there has been no official word over this by anyone. Both players have not said anything about it. Therefore, it would be better not to answer any controversy.
To his reply, Sardesai said that he did not agree with him. Gavaskar, with an ear-to-ear grin on his face, said, “Rajdeep if you don’t agree with me, it doesn’t matter. I won’t lose sleep over it.” Humiliated, yet again on Live TV, Rajdeep could not do anything but laugh over it.
Rajdeep Sardesai and his long history of humiliation
This is not the first time Rajdeep got schooled or humiliated during a conversation. Here are X incidents from the past that might haunt Sardesai for the rest of his life.
‘I don’t take you seriously’, said Mukesh Ambani
In March 2017, India Today Conclave published a 6-minute interview of Rajdeep Sardesai with business tycoon Mukesh Ambani. Sardesai introduced him as the most powerful person in the country. When he asked Ambani how he felt when he introduced him the way he did, Ambani said, “I don’t believe that. I do not take you seriously.” Sardesai, humiliated by the ‘most powerful person’, could only say, “Are yeh kya baat hui (What are you saying).”
Former President Mukherjee scolded him for interupting
In the same year, when former President Pranab Mukherjee completed his tenure, he gave an interview to Rajdeep Sardesai on the launch of his book. During the interview, Sardesai kept interrupting the former President. At first, he did not say anything but by the ninth minute, he had enough. He said, “Let me complete. You don’t have this habit. I am sorry to take you and remind you are interviewing the former President. Please have the necessary courtesy. Don’t interrupt.”
Bachchan refused to fall for his ‘trap’
In January 2016, during an interview with Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, Rajdeep questioned him about his views on the alleged intolerance in the country. Bachchan, who was clearly taken by surprise by the question as earlier it was mostly about his career, said he was not qualified to answer the question. He said, “You know Rajdeep, I don’t know how the journalists address this issue, but really I am not qualified to answer this question at all. I am the least educated as far as these issues are concerned.” When Sardesai asked him if he was being diplomatic, Bachchan said, “So you are agreeing that it is some sort of trap.”
Sania Mirza expressed shock over Sardesai’s ‘disappointment’
In July 2016, Sardesai, during an interview with ace Tennis Player Sania Mirza, got schooled for his question about motherhood. He asked, “Where is Sania going to settle down? Is it going to be Dubai? Is it going to be in another country? What about motherhood? Building a family. I don’t see that in the book. It seems you don’t plan to retire just yet to settle down?” Sania countered and asked, “You don’t think I am settled?” She seemed surprised and shocked at the same time. He kept asking that she did not talk about retirement or raising the family in her book.
Sania called out his stereotypical views on women. She said, “You sound disappointed that I am not choosing motherhood over number one in the world at this point in time. But I will answer your question anyway. That is the question I face all the time.” She further said, “No matter how many Wimbledon we win or number one in the world we become, we don’t become “settled”. But eventually it will happen not just right now.”
Rajdeep must be very “happy” now as Sania is indeed a mother of a baby boy who was born in October 2018.
Sardesai schooled by PM Modi
If that is not enough, he was even schooled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2007 when he was Chief Minister of Gujarat. PM Modi was attending Hindustan Times Leadership Summit as a guest. Sardesai, who was interviewing him, asked if he was sorry about what had happened in 2002.
Then-CM Modi said, “A person who had got a chance to become anchor is trying to impose his propaganda while going out of the line from the topic for which I was called for in this Summit.” He questioned the organizers and asked them to decide how they wanted to move ahead with the interview.
