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.

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