THE HEIRKaran Johar (born 25th May, 1972) the son of the respected Yash Johar. By his own admission, he was not too good at studies. He was an indulged child and obese to boot. In his social circle, bollywood films were looked down upon. He kept his admiration for them a secret under peer pressure. Later he became friends with Aditya Chopra and together they would discuss films to their heart's content.
Karan assisted his friends in all ways during the making of his first movie
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge in 1995. He was an assistant director, scriptwriter and Shahrukh's costume desginer. He even played a bit role of a friend who accompanies Raj (Shahrukh) on his Europe trip. The movie, as history tells us, was an all time blockbuster hit.
HOME PRODUCTIONIn 1998 Dharma Productions (Yash Johar's company) made
Duplicate. Karan helped write the script, designed costumes for Shahrukh and assisted in the production. It was a learning time for him. This Mahesh Bhatt directed movie was a comic thriller. Shahrukh was the king and Juhi was his co-star here. The movie was a flop.
Then Karan took on more responsibilities, he directed the next venture in addition to writing and doing costumes. With his father producing, Dharma Productions made
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The movie starred Karan's close friend Shahrukh and
Kajol. The movie was supposed to have a very smart look, with the actors dressed in designer wear. It was a tale of friendship and love between three people, quite like Archie (Shahrukh), Betty (
Kajol) and Veronica. For Veronica, Karan took on
Kajol's cousin and the latest hottie on the bollywood block,
Rani Mukherjee.
Rani was a few pounds overweight. Karan had envisaged her wearing micro minis and was appalled by her weight. When Rani sat down to a parantha breakfast the next morning, Karan whisked it away and took her on a jog. Soon she was svelte and sexy as his onscreen Veronica was supposed to be. Karan's devotion to all aspects of filmmaking showed and the movie was an all time blockbuster hit. It was the first time that the entire look of the movie was designed, with Manish Malhotra in charge of costume designs and makeovers of the women. In the first half,
Kajol was to look a bit dorky and plain, in a blunt cut. In the later half she wears graceful sarees and looks utterly feminine.
FAMILY SAGAFor his sophomore venture as a director, Karan paid an extravagant tribute to the
Indian family tradition. He roped in Amitabh, Jaya, Hritik, Kareena and
Kajol beside his usual favorite, Shahrukh. The movie was extremely lavish. The members of Yashvardhan Raichand's (
Amitabh Bachchan) family habitually travel by a helicopter and live in houses that could dwarf the White House. They dressed in the most expensive suits, kurtas and dripped jewellery and finery. This was a saga of a family that breaks up when the son Rahul defies his father Yashwardhan to marry a girl of his own choice, i.e. from a poor family,
Kajol. The family is reunited by the efforts of younger generation, Rohan (Hritik) and Pooja (Kareena).
While critics jeered at the unlikely opulence of the movie, the viewers lapped it up. The movie was a huge hit in India and bigger hit overseas. So Karan got to laugh all the way to the bank.
TOMORROW'S WOESKal Ho Na Ho was directed by an assistant director of Karan's on
K3G, Nikhil Advani. This was a bit like the earlier 70s hit Anand. A sick man plays guardian angel in the lives of people around him. Shahrukh played Aman a terminally ill young man who is besotted by the girl next door (in Manhattan, if you please) Naina. Naina has truckload of problems, and lacks love in her life. Aman hooks her up with Rohit (
Saif). Naina falls for Aman but he backs out because of his illness and pushes her to marry Rohit. Again, in almost trademark Karan style, the accent was on a designer look, a great location like Manhattan, a song on the Brooklyn Bridge etc. The movie was emotional and had several shaadi songs, like
K3G. The Karan Mantra succeeded and the movie was another blockbuster hit, even if the critics were closing in. Again there was a special appeal factor for the NRI viewership which was very lucrative.
TEAMING UPKaran teamed up with Shahrukh to co-produce the next film,
Kaal which was directed by Soham Shah. It starred
Ajay Devgan, Vivek, John, Esha and Lara. It was a jungle paranormal movie. Unlikely for a Karan production, it did merely above average business as opposed to his usual blockbusters. Karan declared he was producting this one to promote alternate cinema and to ward off the allegations of always making 'Shaadi' videos. Shahrukh had pitched in with a steamy item number for the movie with Malaika Arora Khan.
BREAK UPS AND MEETINGSKaran supposedly conceived the story of
KANK when he overheard a couple breaking up in a most civilised fashion in a restaurant on the adjacent table. He took a long hiatus from direction to work on his story. He visualised two mismatched couples who meet and fall in love after their marriage. After various tribulations, they divorce their partners and remarry.
It was a mature story and deserved a hard hitting, straighter treatment. As it is Karan tried to make it too emotional and the movie suffered despite a line-up of the best actors in bollywood.
Shahrukh,
Abhishek,
Amitabh,
Rani,
Preity.
Shahrukh and
Rani play the emotional couple unhappy in their marriage who keep bumping into each other till they realise they are in love. The movie was seen as overlong, overemotional and the story did not go down well with the masses. It flopped in India and did good business overseas, as usual, being set in Manhattan, New York, with the backdrop of the NY subway.
TV KILLED THE MOVIE STARKaran lost oodles of weight when he turned filmmaker. He is one of the best turned out, most stylish producer/directors that bollywood has seen, also the youngest. He speaks extremely well and has often hosted and compered shows.
His TV show,
Koffee with Karan enjoys high viewership. His intimate conversations with various stars of the moment are open and very wicked. There has been some name-calling right on national television, and the show has fed and cleared several controversies. It is supposed to be the wickeder version of Simi Garewal's Rendevouz which is too antiseptic. He has interviewed celebrites as varied as Richard Gere to Rakhi Sawant. In fact, when he had Rakhi on his show, he apologised publically for having passed mean remarks on her on his show, and told her he admired her gumption. He was too reverent with Richard Gere, as this was just after the
Shilpa Shetty kissing controversy, but pinkbee guesses it was because Richard is an international star and does tremendous work for charity.
GOSSSSSIPThe juciest gossip about Karan is his sexuality. He is supposed to be the gay lover of Shahrukh, and they have joked about it on his show. He has issued statements in the media that his sexuality is his business and he does not care a fig.
He has often incited his interviewees on making negetive remarks about other actors.
He has designed clothes for all
Shahrukh Khan ventures, be it movies or TV Shows. He is supposed to have volunteered to design the wardrobe for
Shahrukh for his Kaun Banega Crorepati show on TV. In fact they used to be in the studios simultaneously as Karan shot for his Koffee show and
Shahrukh for Crorepati.
VARIOGRAPHYWriterDirectorProducerActor- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
- Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak (2005) ... As himself
- Alag (2006) in song Sabse Alag
- Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love (2007) ...as himself.
- Om Shanti Om (2007) ... Guest Appearance
Costume Designer