Karan Johar Reveals How Aditya Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan Changed His Life Before His Directorial Debut
Karan Johar: On the occasion of Guru Purnima, filmmaker Karan Johar remembered his close friends and mentors, Shah Rukh Khan and Aditya Chopra, and paid an emotional tribute to them. Find out what he had to say.
Reflecting on his previous experience, Karan Johar stated that he was about to go out of the country for studies when Aditya Chopra presented him with an opportunity to assist in the making of "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" (DDLJ).
Karan wrote in his post, "I was about to go to further my studies when Adi approached me at 1 a.m. and asked me to assist on DDLJ. He told me I should become a director. I was very emotional and filmy at the time... He said it would be a big mistake if I didn't choose this path." I couldn't sleep that night.
Karan then shared that the next day he asked his father, Yash Johar, for a year so he could work on a film set.
He wrote, "I went to my father in the morning and asked him for a year. He asked me if I knew how to work on a set. I flatly refused. Then he said that if I worked hard and obeyed everything, I could become a producer, but to become a director, you only need passion."
Karan also recalled a special moment with Shah Rukh Khan. He said that Shah Rukh had expressed confidence in him even before he had become a director.
Karan wrote, "I was looking at the mountains (as if I was missing home), when Shah Rukh came to me and said, 'You will become a director, and I will do your first film.' At the time, I thought he was joking, but he was completely serious. He even discussed this with my father after returning to India. To this day, I still don't understand why they trusted me so much, but they did.
At the end of his post, Karan Johar thanked Shah Rukh and Aditya Chopra. He wrote that he is who he is today, with all his successes and mistakes, because of them.
Karan wrote, "I love you both so much. You both are behind every success and every failure of mine. The stories I'm able to tell today are only because of you. Happy Guru Purnima."
It's worth noting that Karan Johar worked as an assistant director on "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge." He then made his directorial debut in 1998 with "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai," starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji.
