Only work with good looking actors: Karan Johar on why he won't cast Anurag Kashyap

Mumbai: He is making his full-fledged acting debut with Anurag Kashyap’s period drama “Bombay Velvet” but Karan Johar joked that he will not cast the director in his own movies because they are for good-looking people. [caption id=“attachment_2112651” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Karan Johar in a file photo[/caption] Johar is playing the antagonist Kaizad Khambata, a flamboyant Parsi media mogul in the upcoming film, which is slated to hit the screens on 15 May. When asked whether he will ever cast Anurag, who made guest appearances in films like “Happy New Year” and “Bhootnath Returns”, Johar joked, “Have I gone mad? I only work with good looking actors. He will not fit in any of my films. I can’t imagine him in a location like New York!” Set in the Bombay of the 1960s, “Bombay Velvet” chronicles the story of a fighter (Ranbir Kapoor), an aspiring jazz singer (Anushka Sharma) and how their hopes and dreams collide with their individual realities. Alluding to their enmity earlier, Johar said though their relationship began with hate, they are now best of the friends. “The relationship which began with hatred has now culminated into intense love. And let me clarify that there is absolutely no pun in that thought. Working under his direction was like going to a film school. “I felt I had to unlearn everything and actually learnt something new. Working with Ranbir and Anushka was also memorable. I had only few scenes with her…. Anurag would give me one instruction and Ranbir would give me three others. Since most of my scenes are with him, I felt I was being co-directed by both of them,” he said. Johar said he had no inkling that Anurag would offer him such a major role in his ambitious project. Will Karan direct himself in any of his films? “Definitely not because I can’t be my own liability! I am open to offers and I would like to get good character roles,” Johar said. When Anurag first came with the screenplay of “Bombay Velvet”, Johar thought he wanted the feedback and then later thought the director wanted him to produce the movie. “Only at the end he offered me the role. Later, I came to know that an actor like Naseeruddin Shah was considered for Khambatta’s role. It was indeed an additional pressure for me,” Johar said. PTI