For close to two years I’ve seen Karan Johar grappling with the grammar and logistics of putting together the biggest blockbuster of his career. He never overplayed his cards, never said he is making a big film.
But he would share songs and situations from the shooting with me.And I would be laughing my head off. I remember the day he told me about Ranveer Singh’s character Rocky Randhawa mistaking a portrait of Rabindranath Tagore for Alia Bhatt’s character Rani Chatterjee’s grandfather. I laughed so hard, I had never laughed so hard before.
I remember when he told me Ranveer’s reaction of shock and embarrassment when he saw his girlfriend’s father doing the Kathak.
I knew my dear friend Karan had a winner on his hand although he insisted on being unsure and shaken. But nothing had prepared me for the impact of watching Ranveer Singh and Tota Roy Choudhury dancing to Dola re dola.Their synchronized elegant dance movements makes this the most befitting homage to Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Devdas.
Hats off to writer Ishita Moitra for giving Karan Johar’s vision the words that make the scene soar.
It’s been a long journey for Karan Johar. There is the flashy Gucci wearing Elton John of India seen grilling his superstar guests on Koffee With Karan, the biggest guilty pleasure on the small screen since man invented the home medium.Then there is the other Karan Johar that only close friends know: an unabashed Mama’s boy and a wonderful father to his twins Roohi and Yash .An incredibly devoted son to his lovely mother Hiroo Johar, Karan has at least 30-35 best friends, this writer being one of them. We know about his obvious bestfriends: Shah Rukh & Gauri Khan, Aditya Chopra, Apoorva Mehta(the CEO of his company and childhood friend) …But there are so many others whom the outside world knows nothing about.
Karan Johar’s capacity to give love is matched by his gusto for achieving work-related targets.
Multi-tasking may be a byword in today’s times. But Karan’s is a different story. You may call him in Mumbai in the morning. He will answer back from Dubai/London/LA a few hours back. Then if you miss his call , and call back he may be at a third destination on the same day…and still fresh as a daisy and raring to go.
Just listening to Karan Johar’s schedule is an exhausting experience. The empire he runs is vast. There is no production house in Bollywood as vibrant and busy as Dharma Productions.
“Dharma is my father’s karma . I took over when my father’s film’s were failing. To see him heartbroken was not easy to do.But Kuch Kuch Hota Hai put the smile back on his face. As a son, that was the proudest moment for me,” says Karan emotionally.
Now there is just his mother who looks after Karan’s twins . Roohi and Yash believe Karan’s mother to be their ‘Mama’. While Karan is an indulgent father,his mother Hiroo Johar is very strict as a mother
Karan feels it is important for Yash and Roohi to grow up as normal children. They have friends outside the film industry whom they visit on playdates regularly . They are not allowed to feel any more special than any other kids, and paps-clicks are not encouraged.
Of course Karan is an indulgent dad. He makes sure to bring them gifts from wherever he goes outside India.Sometimes he doesn’t get time to buy the gifts during his time abroad,so he does the needful on the Mumbai airport, only to be caught out and shamed by his children.
I can only tell Karan’s growing community of haters: you don’t know him.
