Karan Johar talks about not wasting time, making more films, joys, disappointments, loves and life!

A man in a hurry Part 2

It is largely believed that MNIK is about terrorism..but that's a misconception, right?Totally. I have become fed up of answering this question. So all I can say is that it has nothing to do with terrorism.

Right now, I am obsessed with MNIK. I have no idea what I will do next. And I think what Farah and Shah Rukh are still very close. And I don't want to comment on what is happening today between them. But I know in my head and heart that he and I are beyond our work. Films are not the reason why we are close, not anymore. And I think it has a lot to do with his wife, Gauri. I can go into his house when he is not there, and spend the whole day feeling like I am home. And when I am not in town, he checks in on my mother. That defines us. And makes us stronger. And I think that is a great barrier to have crossed because at one time, we were all about work. And vis-a-vis Farah and him, I think a lot of what is being said, is not true. A lot is just being said and perceived and I feel sometimes people around make relationships much worse. I think there is a lot of love and history between them, and as is the line of the month, let me just say that, 'Aal izz well.'

Will you ever make a comedy -- the only genre that seems to be raking in the big bucks?
I'd love to. But I have a problem with a certain kind of comedy -- which asks me to leave my brains behind at home. That is not an option. I feel even comedy can have a brain. It's my brain and I take it wherever I go.

But that's changed now...
Yes, I think that 3 Idiots is perfect example of taking your brains with you, and having a great time.

Yes, and given your sense of humour... it will be a riot... so when?
I don't know what I want to make next, but I do know is that I will make a film immediately. This time, I have decided that my film releases on February 12 and by Feb 20, my thinking cap comes on. I am going to write. And I want to start a film by this year-end. By December, I want to be on the floor. And then, I'll begin working on my next film.

Why the rush?
The more time I waste, the less cinema I make. I don't have a domestic existence, I don't have kids. My life is my mother and my cinema. I cannot not satisfy both instincts within me. I cannot waste a year. I feel whether I make a good film, bad film, hit film or flop film, I have to put out work. Because that is all I am. I am all about my movies. There are three things that drive me: my emotional requirement, my filmmaking and shopping.

That is soooooooooooo cute!
(Smiles) This will sound ridiculous coming from a supposedly serious filmmaker but let me tell you: Retail therapy does it for me. It gives me a high. People ask me what turns me on. There is nothing more satisfying that taking your credit card and buying something new. And then wearing it. I would love to portray a far more intellectual self but this is what you get.

You are perennially happy. So why did you keep welling up on stage during the MNIK music release?
I think I'm growing old and I am getting more emotional with passing year. Or maybe I have always been emotional and now I have started showing it a lot more. That night when Shah Rukh and Kajol talking about me, just took me back to the fact that they are both so much the reason why I became a filmmaker. My father loved Shah Rukh and Kajol and he used to tell me, 'make a film with them." But in his lifetime we only did Kuch Kuch... and Kabhi Khushi and that night, I kept remembering that. On that stage, when I looked on my left -- I don't know if this makes sense to you --- I felt like my dad was there and that moment just got to me. I swear that if I really hadn't gathered my composure, I would have broken down. I was reaching a point that where nerves were mixed with emotion and that equals a meltdown. Some-where I stopped because I told myself, 'I am in a suit, I can't breakdown. It just won't go'. I had a silent cry that night. Just to myself when I came home that night. It felt really good and I felt it was my way of getting blessings from my father. The next day, I was fine.

You've had two controversies with your last two films. Does that make you feel controlled in terms of what you can do as a filmmaker?
It makes me worry. I mean there are so many stories I want to tell. There is so much I want to say. I want to feel as democratic as the country. But I don't. I feel like my hands are tied. I go over my dialogues again and again because I am thinking about who will get upset and react. Is this democracy? We have created a dictatorship. Largely, I feel that we are a very vulnerable industry and we should be protected much, much more. We are creative people who provide entertainment to millions. How come we are not given the kind of credibility that we deserve and need. The high powers, the authorities must look at us and protect us.