'Look Who's Talking with Niranjan' recap: Karan Johar is a 42-year-old virgin

Look Who’s Talking With Niranjan is the new celebrity interview show in town. What? Another celebrity interview show? What’s the novelty in that? Well, it seems the novelty is the host this time around and not the guests – because the guests have been interviewed to death before. Who is Niranjan you ask? Best known for being Kajol’s BFF, Niranjan Iyengar is also a dialogue writer and lyricist who has written the dialogues for many of Karan Johar’s films. I didn’t think the show would be too bad, but then again, you could argue my standards were low: one of the things that gave me joy was that instead of being shot in the same set, each episode of the show will be shot at a different restaurant. [caption id=“attachment_1648345” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Niranjan Iyengar with Karan Johar. Screengrab from YouTube.[/caption] The line-up of “stars” though – going by the promos – isn’t looking too impressive. Predictably, Iyengar has lassoed Kajol and KJo in, but other than these two, the rest seem mostly slightly boring or blah. Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor, Siddharth Malhotra and Vidya Balan are seen laughing and giggling in the promos, so the good news is that at least they seem to have had fun recording their shows. Unfortunately, none of these actors are known for their wit in conversation, as their appearances in other celebrity interview shows have established. Iyengar’s first episode had him chatting with Johar. Johar, unlike most Bollywood celebrities, is an easy and engaging conversationalist, and it’s obvious that Iyengar is comfortable with him. There’s a relaxed ambience to show, with the host and interviewee drinking wine and chatting. All this is quite pleasant and since it’s only 30 minutes (as opposed to an hour), the interview didn’t seem to ramble. But did we really learn anything new about Johar? Not really, although we are now very curious about what’s in Johar’s closet. Here’s why. Look Who’s Talking With Niranjan is sponsored by Medimix, Cera and OLX. As a result, there’s a segment of the show dedicated to OLX. In it, the interviewee can sell off one of his belongings. Johar chose to bring out a burgundy velvet jacket; made by Armani, no less. For those who want to look like a gigolo from Las Vegas, the sad news is that the velvet jacket doesn’t appear to be on the OLX site. Maybe Johar couldn’t part with it after all. Maybe it was snapped up within seconds of being put online. Ah, the mystery… What Johar didn’t keep mysterious is the range of sexual experience. He is indeed the 40-year-old virgin (ok, 42 year old). According to him he’s had only one serious relationship. It lasted six months and was conducted long distance. But he’s had a lot of unrequited love and he savours heartbreaks. I felt a tear well up.

Johar was honest enough to say that he doesn’t want to die alone or be alone and that’s why he’s been toying with the idea of adopting either a child or a dog. It was the only amusing statement in the otherwise nothing new-something blue episode. No other celebrity would be candid enough to admit that whether pet or child, the point of having one is to feel less lonely. Hats off to KJo for being blunt. He was equally unabashed about how he doesn’t think much of the arty-farty film fraternity and their “deep” films. He thinks Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a lost cause as is Ram Gopal Verma. But Anurag Kashyap and he are still besties. Also, on the subject of close friendships, KJo wuvs SRK. According to Johar, he can give up any relationship in a heartbeat, but not the one he has with Shah Rukh Khan. How sweet; a little scary, but sweet. He also said that there are people in his and Khan’s inner circle who are trying to split them up. And he’s not amused. A plague on their houses and all that. All in all, even though I wouldn’t time my clock by it, it’s not a bad show.   Look Who’s Talking With Niranjan airs on Zee Cafe on Sundays at 9 pm.  Disclaimer: Firstpost is a part of Network18, which also owns TV channels which compete with Zee Cafe.