'We were trying to find ourselves'

Karan Johar talks of what Shah Rukh, Kajol and he were like when they first met and how the three have journeyed together

Karan Johar talks of what Shah Rukh, Kajol and he were like when they first met and how the three have journeyed together

OVER hot lemon tea (not koffee) at his Dharma office, Karan Johar opens up about the special bond his My Name Is Khan stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol share with him.

Karan, Kajol and Shah Rukh thrash out a My Name Is Khan scene

What kind of people were Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and you when you became friends?
I was a lost child. Kajol was finding her groove as a mainstream actor. She almost didn't want the trappings of stardom, but just the enjoyment of acting. Shah Rukh was on the brink of breaking into superstardom. Each of us were trying to find ourselves.

I wanted to find out if this was my career. Kajol was trying to suss out whether this was enough for her to stay on. Shah Rukh was wondering whether to pitch himself as an action star or a love hero. Strangely, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge gave us all direction. All three question marks became exclamation marks in exactly a year.

How old were you when you first met?

I've known Kajol since I was 10, but as a team, I met them first on the sets of Karan Arjun. I was 21, Kajol about 19 and Shah Rukh must have been 26-27. I had gone on the sets with my father to offer Shah Rukh Duplicate. They were really pal-ly. He was trying to control her because she was getting appalled with some of the steps she was getting in Jaati hoon main. He was telling her, "Be convinced. You're an actor", while she was grumbling in the corner. I found him gentleman-like. They were friends.u00a0u00a0

Who was the friendliest one amongst you?

Undoubtedly, I'm the friendly one, the people's person. I create bonds with people. My bond with Shah Rukh and my bond with Kajol became a three-way bond during Dilwale. And with Adi (Chopra) being so unfriendly we all love him to pieces but he's not an extrovert. Kajol, Shah Rukh and I have had great conversations.
One of those conversations resulted in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. When I decided to direct, Shah Rukh and Kajol both agreed to act.



Did they have to put you at ease during Kuch Kuch Hota Hai?

They treated me like a director. They gave me the regard and respect of a filmmaker from the first day of my career. Both had a lot of confidence in my ability. I was never questioned. I got that strength from them. They weren't even slightly iffy, not even the first time I narrated it to them in Shah Rukh's old house on April 28, 1997.

Also, I was never nervous about Kuch Kuch, only excited. I was proud that I could finally write, Occupation: Filmmaker.u00a0u00a0

Karan and SRK on MNIK sets

When you got together again in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, how had all three of you changed?

Kajol wasn't working at all at the time; she had been married for a couple of years. It was her first foray into a film set-up after a while. The difference was the girl becoming a woman. She was more professional, worried about how she would look compared to how she just didn't care in DDLJ. She was a new person. Her spirit and spontaneity were, however, intact.

On the sets of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Shah Rukh was going through a lot of stress not career-related, but other peripheral things. He was quieter, she was more restrained. We had lots of fun, but it was restrained, not the bubbly kind of Kuch Kuchu00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u00a6
In K3G, you were dealing with so many stars.

But Shah Rukh-Kajol were like coming home. Everyone was a star, but when I shot with Shah-Kajol, it was like I was unwinding. This was home ground. If I slipped, they would hold on.

Do you crack up a lotu00a0 when you're shooting?

We always do. Shah Rukh, Kajol and I go through laughing fits at times. It will invariably be during an emotional scene. Like they'll suddenly find another actor very funny, but won't be able to say it, so will crack up whenever he opens his mouth. I don't get exasperated because half the time, I'm laughing.



Have you ever lost your cool with them?

No, (grins, shrugs) naahh, I don't have the right. They are the only two people who can fire me. Kajol can happily scream at me, while Shah Rukh will never scream, but will pull me up. "You're taking too long. Shut up, don't waste our time." Kajol will be like, "I have to go! What are you doing?!" I always feel like I'm going to get reprimanded if I do anything wrong.u00a0

You've shot all over the world with them. Have you three got out and explored together?

Not really. People in units go out when they want to unwind. For us, our entertainment is on set. None of us take our work that seriously. During our biggest breakdown scenes, we laugh a lot. Kajol will be screaming with all the emotion in her gut. Cut and she'll say, "Oh, I'm hungry! I want to eat that chocolate cake." They know their lines and character graph. Acting really happens when the camera comes on.

With Kajol on My Name Is Khan

What are the conversation points with you three?

Shah Rukh and Kajol are big readers so they're always talking books. Invariably, they're also always making fun of me. But that's entertaining.

Do you have the same taste in movies?

No. Diverse tastes. Shah Rukh's into gizmo-friendly, sci-fi films that he's always trying desperately to drag me to. I'm into mushy fare that he can't stand. Kajol is halfway. She'll watch the Harry Potters and she'll also love a good cry in Her Sister's Keeper.

How did Shah Rukh and Kajol fit into My Name Is Khan?

Essentially, Shah Rukh and Kajol were my first choices for the film. Shah Rukh because he had to depict a character so removed from him, like he did in Swades or Chak De India.

But here, there was the added dimension of having a disorder. There was no aid or assistance of any mainstream trapping to this character. Devoid of things that Shah Rukh is known foru00a0 his incorrigible smile, that tear in his eye, the hand that runs through his hair or arms that open wide for love. Rizwan Khan had none of these.

For him to portray this character was the hugest risk that he and I have ever taken. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the cliche goes. If we just go on breaking box office records, we're not creating new ones in cinema's syntax.

There isn't a single heroine in this industry who can portray compassion and yet show a woman so passionately in love as well as Kajol. I needed to convince audiences that a woman with so much passion could fall in love with a man with a disorder. The moment she looks at him in the film, you buy into their love story.

SRK and Kajol are both married, have children and yet, people are in love with this jodi.

It's the warmth they exude and the comfort they have with each other as friends. As silly as it sounds, when you see them, you can't help but smile.

When Shah Rukh looks at Kajol and says hi and she says hi back, you feel the love. We call it chemistry but basically they are so at ease with each other. That buddy love slips onto celluloid. They also have a mutual respect of each other as actors. They have great screen history. You can never tire of them as a couple.
It's also amazing to see Kajol play with (SRK's daughter) Suhana and Shah Rukh play with (Kajol's daughter) Nysa. There is love and respect that transfers itself to another generation.

We're also in an age where iconic love couples don't exist anymore. You're in love with individual actors, not a couple, which was an emotion of the 70s, 80s and 90s cinema. Only Shah Rukh and Kajol remain flagbearers of that. There is no other pair you're dying to see.

'I'm the biggest gossip'

Karan Johar reveals the dynamics of their threesome

Who is the joker of the bunch?

Shah Rukh. He's the one with the funny lines. We sometimes oscillate.

Who offers a shoulder to cry on?

Shah Rukh has never asked for a shoulder. He internalises a lot. He's my shoulder and I would be Kajol's shoulder.

Who is the most grounded one?

Shah Rukh, undoubtedly. He's sorted.

The most emotional?

It's a tie between Kajol and me. Our eyes well up at the same time.

Who flies off the handle?

Kajol.

The one who needs reassurance?

Me.

The 4 am friend?

We're each other's 4 am friends, though we've never had that situation. Like when Kajol lost her father, Ajay (Devgan) couldn't get through to me. He called Shah Rukh, who stopped everything and called me. We rushed over there.

The biggest gossip?

Me. They have no access to information I'm the information giver. Shah Rukh and Kajol are clueless. And Kajol is four seasons behind. She'll still be talking about an actor's relationship that broke up two years ago; he's already moved onto four others.

What do the three of you do when you're not shooting?

Kajol will read or spend time with her family. Shah Rukh will be in front of his computer or be trying to acquire some property somewhere. And I'll be in a shop!u00a0u00a0u00a0

When all three of you do interviews, can you predict what each other will say?

You know Shah Rukh will be the funny one and Kajol will be the one trying to get the hell out of that interview. Shah Rukh will be trying to hold her back and I will be the one trying to balance their equation. It never changes. A decade ago, it was like that.

You know when Shah Rukh will wax eloquent about something and when he praises her, she'll make a face and think, 'Am I worthy of that?'

Who likes doing photo shoots?
(Grins) I. Definitely me. They hate it.