In an exclusive conversation with Brij Pahwa and Taniya Tikoo, Karan Johar, a filmmaker, producer, anchor and an actor, talks about parenthood, nepotism, Pakistani actors and his management mantras.
Excerpts:
There are a lot of added responsibilities that come with parenthood. How has life changed after Yash and Roohi?
Of course, it is a big responsibility. My life has changed in a sense that I have been on paternity leave for the last one month. In fact, today is a rare day that I have stepped out of my city or home. I have been with them setting everything up.
Initially, the role of a parent is to make sure the kids are comfortable and since I am not feeding them I have to monitor everything else. So it is a whole new experience and something that I have never experienced before. Being a single father is an added responsibility. My life has changed for the better and it feels a lot more complete.
You had clinical depression and came out of that, what is KJO’s advice to fight depression?
It is not to confuse the two. Sadness is not depression and depression is not sadness. Depression or anxiety sometimes needs to be addressed. So, don’t feel shy going to a therapist or a psychologist and seeking the right kind of help.
What is your advice to the young corporate leaders of today?
Follow some of the rules but leave some space for abandon. If you just live by the rule book, there is going to be no fun and fabulousness in what you do. There has to be an element of abandon along with the rule book. That is my only piece of advice.
Do you think ‘nepotism’ as a culture is as intricate to ‘Bollywood’ as it is to the corporate world?
Of course, it is and everybody knows that. That is the answer to the question. Why, what, how, when are the answers that have created a storm in everyone’s coffee cup but yes, it is rampant everywhere.
Will Dharma Production get into short films?
No, not short films yet. But we are completely dabbling into the digital zone. We might come up with something. We are looking at it and I don’t want to be an early bird because I yet don’t know what is the future of it but we are trying.
Is Bollywood facing a crisis?
We need to energise the writer otherwise it’s only the tiny film that eventually wins the audience that is surviving or the big event film, the middle order film is completely crumbling and dying. I think we need to salvage that before digital completely takes over and cinema becomes the step child of entertainment rather than being the mother of it.
Do you think you got bowed down by the Indian politicians on your stance on Pakistani actors and actresses coming to India and working here?
Definitely, I wasn’t too happy with putting out the apology video. I had to do it for various circumstantial reasons and it is just my responsibility to many people, including the studio that was financing my film.
You are a producer, anchor, actor and a filmmaker. You have played many roles and managed many people. What is your mantra of management?
Delegate and trust.
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