There is little that is outside Karan Johar’s comfort zone. It all comes naturally to the filmmaker — from going behind the camera, to being the sassy host of a chat show, or being a judge on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Ready with the 10th season of Colors’ dance reality show, Johar says he thoroughly enjoys it, thanks to his Punjabi genes. “I am not a trained dancer, but I have the energy of a Punjabi,” he quips in his trademark humour. “[Earlier], we were taught that if you are a filmmaker, you should have a serious personality. I have never [lived by] that; I stay true to my energy. I have broken all the myths around filmmakers. No matter how mad I look, if I feel like dancing on the stage, I will. Dancing comes from a place of abandon.”

To the filmmaker-judge, dance is synonymous with a sense of freedom. It’s also a reminder of the joys of his childhood days. “My father [Yash Johar] would encourage me to dance when my friends used to come over. He would say, ‘Karan dances well to Dafli wale dafli baja. Karan, nacho.’ I would dance with abandon. My parents encouraged me, regardless that it was Jaya Prada’s steps [I was emulating]. Nobody told me you are a boy, and so-and-so should be your behaviour pattern.”