Karan Johar
Karan Johar | |
|---|---|
| File:Koffeewithkaran.jpg | |
| Born | May 25, 1972 |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, Television host, Actor, Judge[1] |
| Website | http://starworld.indya.com/kwk/show.html |
Karan Johar (born May 25, 1972 in India) is a son of the late Yash Johar and a popular Indian film director, producer, and TV celebrity. Karan studied at the Greenlawns High School and attended H.R. College in Mumbai, India. Karan has also received a Masters degree in French. Dharma Productions, founded by his father, is his production company.
Career
Karan Johar formally entered the film industry as an actor. He was seen as Shahrukh Khan's close friend in the blockbuster movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). He was also assistant director on this film and helped director Aditya Chopra in writing the screenplay for this film. In addition, he selected Shahrukh Khan's costumes, something he continued to do for Shahrukh Khan's other movies like Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Duplicate (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Main Hoon Na and Veer-Zaara (2004).
He made his directorial debut in 1998 with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ( Something Happens). The film was a major box office and won eight Filmfare Awards in 1998 including Best Movie, Best Director and all four Best Actor awards for both leading and supporting roles. The film, abbreviated as KKHH, starred Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Salman Khan and Anupam Kher.
His second directorial effort, the multi-starrer family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was released in 2001. It was also highly successful. K3G, as the film is commonly abbreviated, went on to win five Filmfare Awards.
In 2003, he produced and wrote the script for another extremely successful film Kal Ho Naa Ho, which was directed by Nikhil Advani, his assistant director from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Kal Ho Naa Ho translates to Tomorrow May Never Come. The film starred Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta.
In early 2005, he co-produced another movie with Shahrukh Khan - Kaal. This film was directed by Soham Shah, Johar's assistant director from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Johar did not write the script for Kaal.
In September 2005, after taking a four-year break from directing, he began working on his third film as a director and fourth film as writer; Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, (Never Say Farewell). It starred Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan and Kiron Kher. KANK, as the film is commonly abbreviated, released on August 11, 2006. It was not quite as successful as his previous film in India, however it did extremely well over-seas.
Johar is also the host of a television chat show called Koffee with Karan[2] commissioned by Star World, in which he interviews renowned celebrities from Bollywood and India's glamour world. The first season of the show ended in 2006 and the next season began to air in February 2007.
Johar has hosted numerous film award ceremonies in India, the most recent being the Zee Cine Awards in 2007. On September 30, 2006 Johar became the first Indian filmmaker to be a jury member in the Miss World competition, in Warsaw, Poland.
Karan Johar has been emerging as one of India's young thought leaders and was chosen as one of 250 Global Young Leaders by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum 2006. Along with various other Indian luminaries, Johar also spoke at the Wharton India Economic Forum 2006 held at the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia as well as the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi in November 2006.
Filmography
Writer
- Duplicate (1998)
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
- Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
- Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Director
Producer
- Duplicate (1998)
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
- Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)
- Kaal (2005) (co-producer)
- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Actor
- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
- Indian Idol (2004) ... Guest judge
- Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak (2005) ... As himself
- Alag (2006) in song Sabse Alag
- Salaam-e-Ishq (2007) ..as himself and himself.
Directorial Style
Karan Johar's films rank high on emotional quotient. They tend to find wide appeal among audiences in India and abroad. His films tend to have urban characters and backdrops. Almost all of Johar's films have made for opulent cinema characterized by elaborate sets, exquisite costumes and picturesque songs.
Trivia
- All movies written by Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna), start with 'K' and consist of four words. It is said that this is done for luck and success; many Bollywood celebrities put some credence in numerology.
- Shahrukh Khan has starred in all of Karan Johar's movies.
- He has said that Kajol is his lucky mascot that is why she always has a special appearance in his movies.