I didn't mean to offend Aamir, Salman: Hrithik

An off the cuff, humorous remark by actor Hrithik Roshan about his colleagues Aamir Khan and Salman Khan has raised some eyebrows. But the star maintains that he said it for "fun" and didn't mean to offend anyone.

On director Karan Johar's talk show "Koffee With Karan", Hrithik was asked whom among the two Khans - Aamir and Salman - he would like to work with. To this, Hrithik, tongue-firmly-in-cheek, observed there wasn't much of a choice since they were both of the same height.

The remark ruffled a few feathers in the more conservative sections of Bollywood who felt Hrithik was taking a pot shot at the two Khans' height.

"Come on!" laughed Hrithik. "If people really took offence to my off-the-cuff remark then I must say we lack a sense of humour. Karan's show is meant to be light-hearted and fun and I had a ball with Priyanka (Chopra).

"I certainly didn't mean any disrespect to Salman or Aamir. In fact after the comment on their height, my next statement was - 'That's the only department where I can score over them.' Aamir and Salman are such awesome talents. They're legends. It'll take me years to get anywhere near them."

Karan, who's currently in the US, too had a good laugh.

"Surely even a perfectionist like Hrithik is allowed to have fun on my show. And the remark on Aamir and Salman was certainly not meant to offend. I'm amazed at how seriously we take ourselves in the industry."

He added: "I'm also amazed that 'Koffee With Karan' has become my main claim to fame right now. At airports, restaurants and on the streets in any of the US cities, I'm asked only about 'Koffee...'. I better direct another film quickly!"

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service