 "Karan Johar on his childhood: 'People would use all kinds of hurtful words at that time'")
Filmmaker Karan Johar, who was recently spotted at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2023, for the premiere of Dharma Productions’ next venture Kill, called his time at the film festival ‘filled with an abundance of love and warmth’ in an Instagram post.
The 51-year-old, whose last directorial _Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani_ , was a hit at the box office, described how he quietens the noise produced by ’negativity’ around him. In one such interview with Film Companion at TIFF, the director-producer articulated how judgement doesn’t affect him anymore and how he can overcome all this without letting it take over his life now.
Not just this, taking a cue from one of the characters in the Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh-starrer, he added that just like Chandon Chatterjee, Rani’s father in the film, he was also considered different from other boys of his age during his childhood.
On muting negativity around him
Karan Johar told the media outlet how everyone experiences life through cinema. Taking the example of Tota Roy Chowdhury’s character ‘Chandon Chatterjee’, who comes across as a trained Kathak dancer in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai director spoke about being laughed at as a child when he wanted to dance. “It was pretty much a section of my childhood where I was considered different from the other boys. Unusual. People would use all kinds of hurtful words at that time,” he continued.
On connecting the dots after he moved forward, KJo added that he realised it was an attempt to weaken him. ‘What people say about you’, the filmmaker added, ‘can rather easily weaken one’. “But I felt like ‘Thank God I have cinema, where I can express myself,” he said.
On people’s judgment
Shedding light on people’s judgement of him, Karan Johar stated that he doesn’t care about people’s judgment. Instead, he wishes to live life on his own terms, without catering to anyone else. Quoting Tota Roy Chowdhury’s famous dialogue from the movie, he said he believes in ‘hunar ka koi gender nahi hota (there’s no gender to talent)’.
The filmmaker continued that ’tomorrow if he wants to dance on the stage, some would call it effeminate while some will call it a piece of art’. He further stated how he feels he has been through the fire and now can face it. “Now the trolls don’t matter to me,” KJo said.
“At one point, you have to realise that you live your life once. If you start succumbing to external pressures, you will never be able to live your life the way you want,” the Student of the Year director added.
Work Front
Work-wise, after Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’s unprecedented success at the box office, Karan Johar is busy promoting his upcoming actioner Kill, starring Lakshay and Raghav Juyal. Helmed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, the film is produced by Karan Johar and Guneet Monga.
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