Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, Costume designer and Television host based in Bollywood. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar.
Karan Johar was born in Mumbai, India to Indian Bollywood film producer Yash Johar, founder of Dharma Productions and Hiroo Johar. He studied at the Greenlawns High School and attended H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, both in Mumbai. He received a Masters degree in French. He is also the head of the production company Dharma Productions. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and abroad.
Career
Karan Johar was first seen as an actor: he played Shahrukh Khan's close friend, Rocky, in the movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). He was also Assistant Director on this film and helped Aditya Chopra in writing the screenplay. 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, which roughly translates to Something Something Happens. The film was a major box office hit. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 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, commonly abbreviated KKHH, starred Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, and Anupam Kher.
His second directorial effort, the multi-starrer family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, which roughly translates to Sometimes Happiness Sometimes Sadness, 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 Kal Ho Naa Ho, which was directed by Nikhil Advani, his Assistant Director from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Kal Ho Naa Ho, which roughly translates to Tomorrow May Never Come, starred Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Jaya Bachchan, and Saif Ali Khan. It too was a hit.
In early 2005, he produced another movie, Kaal, directed by Soham Shah, Johar's Assistant Director from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Johar did not write the script toKaal.
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, which roughly translates to Never Say Goodbye. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan,Preity Zinta, Kiron Kherand Arjun Rampal. 'KANK', as the film is commonly abbreviated, released on August 11, 2006.
Johar has also hosted a television chat show called Koffee with Karan commissioned by Star World, in which he interviewed renowned celebrities from Bollywoodand India's glamor world. Johar describes his show as being "casual, cooler and hipper" and aiming to appeal to Indianyuppiedom. With the first season of the show ending in 2005, Karan will begin the second season in the second half of 2006. The second season is also said to include interviews with prominent industrialists.
He was the host for the 2006 Zee Cine Awardson March 4th in Mauritius. |
