Storm in a coffee cup: What makes Koffee with Karan an exercise in not taking life too seriously

When the going gets tough, we turn to our favourite guilty pleasures. But when entertainment is concerned, is there even any guilt to what gives one pleasure? In our new series Pleasure Without Guilt, we look at pop offerings that have been dissed by the culture police but continue to endure as beacons of unadulterated pleasure.

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Recently, my best friends from school, now in Boston, West Bengal, and Mumbai, planned a Zoom call on my birthday. We played a game — Rapid Fire, you know, Koffee with Karan style. I had to give alternate professions for our friends, rank my favourite Shah Rukh Khan movies in order, and play some version of Hook-up, Marry, Kill.

My friends and I were 11 when Koffee with Karan debuted on Star World. We loved everything about the show — the glamour, the risqué conversations, the chemistry between the guests, and of course, the Rapid Fire round. We watched every episode religiously. Although Koffee With Karan was often looked down upon for its frivolity, it was impossible to ignore. I remember a birthday party in 2004-05. I was playing with my friends but I could hear the moms talking outside. They were discussing what Zeenat Aman and Hema Malini had said on the Koffee episode that week.

I knew, from very early on, that I wasn’t the only one obsessed.

I was a Bollywood-obsessed child, so loving Koffee with Karan was a natural next step for me. Till then, I got my celebrity gossip from magazines that my parents refused to subscribe to. I had to make do with editions of Filmfare when I went for a haircut. There were a few talk shows, but none where the focus was, so clearly, on the gossip. Koffee with Karan was different. It was unabashedly shallow — Amrita Arora famously said that her brief for her episode in season 1 was “Look hot.”

What set Koffee with Karan apart was that it was hosted by an industry insider. And unlike Simi Garewal, someone much more irreverent.

It was Johar’s acceptance and ownership of his frivolity that made the show work. Johar was a sublime host — you could see the rapport he shared with his guests. For a certain group of stars, Johar was their friend and confidante. He could call them out on their statements.

In later seasons, as he grew to become one of the most successful producers in the industry, Johar was also in a position of power, especially with respect to the younger actors. Several talked about their dream of being in a Dharma Productions movie. Despite the power dynamics though, at least for that one hour, Johar tried to be a friend of the guest’s, and provide a tantalizing glimpse into the lives of stars — lives that we as a country are obsessed with. There would be casual mentions of dinner parties, who was sleeping with whom, and what they had thought of each other when they were all growing up and attending Abhishek Bachchan’s childhood birthday parties.

It presented a lovely, rosy picture of the industry — where all families got along and all the stars were friends. The pairings added to the charm — you wanted to believe they were friends away from the couch too. That they were hanging out regularly, and doing… whatever it is that stars do. Koffee with Karan was the first show I remember where they got two stars who weren’t doing films together, and therefore, not doing interviews together. This is not to say that they never had pairings who came to promote a show. Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Sanya Malhotra were guests before  Dangal.  In the very first season, Mira Nair and Tabu played a clip of The Namesake on the show. Johar still made it work.

As the years progressed, the show became a cultural phenomenon. During the latest season, aired in 2018, Sara Ali Khan, Diljit Dosanjh, and Ayushmann Khurana all talk about how it is almost an achievement to be on the show. Not just as guests — it was also an achievement if you made it to the list of people Johar asks his guests to rank in the Rapid Fire round. That round itself had a life of its own. It was adopted by every show and every emcee in the country, with versions found in magazine interviews, other talk shows, and in game nights in your own living room.

And Koffee with Karan did change things — your image was decided by how you came across on the show. Alia Bhatt had to work extremely hard over the years to shake off the dumb-girl image; I know many people who’ve never watched a Sara Ali Khan movie but like her because of her Koffee episode.

Even now, on bad days and tired nights, my friends and I go back to Disney+ Hotstar to rewatch our favourite moments of the show. I recently rewatched Seasons 1 and 2 in chronological order — including the episodes I usually skip. I was shocked by how much I’ve forgotten. I was more shocked by how much I remembered.

Fifteen years later, it’s still fun to revisit the gossip, especially with the awareness of hindsight. Watching the older seasons now is both strange and hilarious — Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor are guests, and dating, in the second season; by the fourth, they’re with different people. Suzanne Khan and Hrithik Roshan are now divorced. Alia Bhatt appears as a younger star, declaring her massive crush on Ranbir Kapoor.

It’s also interesting to see how the industry and the world itself have changed so much in this time. Each season is like a throwback to the culture of that year. The frequent references to cocaine in seasons 1 and 2 wouldn’t be possible today. There’s more awareness of rights and equality and feminism now. (One of my favourite funny moments of the show is an older episode where Shabana Azmi describes Javed Akhtar as a feminist. Without missing a beat, Johar says, “Oh? So he’s a woman’s man?” He’d be far more aware today. Hopefully.)

I often wonder what exactly worked for the show, and I know my answer now. The show never places anyone on a pedestal — all the guests are able to have fun and laugh at themselves, and that’s what I keep coming back to. By taking itself too seriously, the show forces you to not take yourself, your favourite stars, and the Hindi film industry too seriously. A welcome and much-needed reminder in today’s time.

Shreemayee is a writer and a stand-up comedian. She writes mostly on cinema and culture. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @weepli.