I was very surprised when Karan Johar informed me that his phone number had changed. Ever since I’ve known him he had the same number. Crank calls, threats, taunts, blank calls… none of these arm-twisting tactics daunted him. He saw it as a part of his workload.
“If I pay attention to every taunt and insult I’d become a nervous wreck,” Karan had once told me.
We once were friends. I remember how kind he was to my daughter when she wanted to meet her idol, Shah Rukh Khan, for the first time. Karan not only arranged the meeting he also took us in his own car to Shah Rukh.
In recent years we grew apart for many reasons that I wouldn’t like to go into. Suffice it to say the whole image of the star-maker has taken its toll on Karan’s consciousness. Plus that talk show he conducts where Coffee kam, caffeine zyada hota hai and which requires him to bitch everyone out…. I feel the focus has willy-nilly moved away from what Karan’s main vocation mentioned on his passport.
Filmmaker Kam, socialite zyada, that’s what Karan Johar had lately become. I think the Sushant Singh Rajput episode has changed Karan’s approach to his work-place forever. Rather than form personal relationships with a handful of handpicked stars (Ranbir Kapoor & Alia Bhatt, Kareena & Karisma Kapoor—but not Saif Ali Khan, Kajol—but not Ajay Devgan, Varun Dhawan—but not his brother Rohit, Siddharth Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor but not Sara Ali Khan, Gauri Khan—but not Shah Rukh, Twinkle Khanna but not her husband Akshay Kumar) Karan will have to expand his horizons and those bitching session which made outsiders like me very uncomfortable, must stop.
The truth is, Karan and his friends don’t spare anyone. Some time ago, Kajol had stopped speaking to Karan because he was heard carping cattily against her husband.
Sushant Singh Rajput was never a favourite at the Dharma catty parties. But that doesn’t mean Karan Johar sabotaged his career. No. The one whose career got sabotaged is Priyanka Chopra. But that’s a story, some other time.
One seemingly innocuous message after Sushant’s death expressing regret about not keeping in touch with the actor turned Karan into everybody’s favourite dartboard. I heard he has lost “followers” by lakhs.
Good! Use this opportunity to get rid of the extra baggage. Cleanse your soul, Karan, and start afresh. Make your children proud. At the end of the day, they are all you have. Make the films that they will see and appreciate when they grow up. You have so much power. Don’t use it to meow. Use it to roar.
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