Monday, December 17, 2007
Karan Johar's Media Mantra's
One of the nicest — and mutually profitable — friendships here is that of Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar. K Jo may be right up there in the marquee as a film-maker but he is still sporting enough to take care of Shah Rukh’s clothes, without ever feeling that he’s too big to be doing this now.
“I do clothes only for Shah Rukh, nobody else,” Karan is clear about that. “I connect with what Shah Rukh wants. I’ve done his clothes in Main Hoon Na (remember the simple but distinct sweater and scarf look?) and in Om Shanti Om. I always say Yash Uncle and Farah are two makers for whom, whenever they work with Shah Rukh, I will always do the clothes. I do Shah Rukh’s clothes in any case. I’m always shopping for him. I love doing it as a hobby.
“I loved doing the clothes of Om Shanti Om. Farah was so well-researched, she knew just what she wanted. Every time I fought with her — like I’d say, Farah, you want to give him this gold jacket for God’s sake — her answer would be, just shut up and give it, I know what my tones are. And when I saw it on screen the gold jacket looked great. Shah Rukh looked fantastic in the film. In the first half there wasn’t one wrong note. I had great fun doing it. I hope I get another job!”
One might say that today it is a privilege for anybody to do Shah Rukh’s clothes. But Karan is not ‘anybody’; he is a huge celebrity himself. One might think Karan benefits from his association with such a big star but if you really look at their friendship, I for one would say that Shah Rukh has equally gained from having Karan for a friend.
Today, especially after the blockbuster win of Om Shanti Om, a dreary charge against SRK is that he is media-savvy, like it is a gaali. Anybody who can’t get a good press (currently, Rishi Kapoor and most of the Saawariya satellites) sneer over the two words, ‘media savvy’ like it is a flaw in your personality. But the truth is, Shah Rukh was not always media-savvy. When he made his first film, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, and flopped on his face, he had got the kind of furious backlash that Sanjay Leela Bhansali got this year. Shah Rukh had no friends in the media, he had an issue with most of them (yours truly included) over laughingly trivial items, and right up to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, it was close friend Karan Johar who spoke warmly to the media on his friend’s behalf.
If Shah Rukh Khan has changed for the better you have to credit buddy Karan for the subtle influence he has had over the actor. Hear Karan’s refreshing views on the media and you’ll get an idea of where Shah Rukh has picked up some important lessons.
Says Karan, “Handling the media is really an art, that too requires a certain course.
“You cannot deny the power of the media, you cannot deny that they are a huge platform you need to be on when you have to promote your film or speak about yourself, you cannot deny that they make you the brand you are and you reap the benefits of that. I work in tandem with the media, I like to be there for them just as they have always been there for me. Yes, there are some bad apples but there are those bad apples in any industry, any profession, why just the media?
“When critics praise you, you’re happy. When they criticise you, you say they’re biased. Why can’t we accept that perhaps they just didn’t like your film? I can, even if it does hurt. If tomorrow you write against my film, I’m not going to be loving you for that second, but the next day I’ll wake up and say, ok, I must respect her opinion, I have so many of my own.
“Yes, the electronic media is in your face, the paparazzi is emerging, it’s annoying when you go to an event and you have a hundred cameras on you. But would you not want those hundred people around you? Would you like it if they ignored you and ran after someone else? No, I wouldn’t. I’m sorry to report, I’d be shattered, upset and want to break my head against the nearest wall! I like the shutterbugs when I walk the red carpet and I like the fact that they’re screaming my name for sound bytes. If they didn’t, I’d wonder what went wrong!
“We need the media,” concludes Karan. And you know just how much Shah Rukh has got from Karan when the film-maker says, “Let’s not pretend that we’re going to go out there and bash them because we sound cool at a party. We don’t.
“Media bashing is really passé!”
Thanks, pal.
CelebrityCircus
“I do clothes only for Shah Rukh, nobody else,” Karan is clear about that. “I connect with what Shah Rukh wants. I’ve done his clothes in Main Hoon Na (remember the simple but distinct sweater and scarf look?) and in Om Shanti Om. I always say Yash Uncle and Farah are two makers for whom, whenever they work with Shah Rukh, I will always do the clothes. I do Shah Rukh’s clothes in any case. I’m always shopping for him. I love doing it as a hobby.
“I loved doing the clothes of Om Shanti Om. Farah was so well-researched, she knew just what she wanted. Every time I fought with her — like I’d say, Farah, you want to give him this gold jacket for God’s sake — her answer would be, just shut up and give it, I know what my tones are. And when I saw it on screen the gold jacket looked great. Shah Rukh looked fantastic in the film. In the first half there wasn’t one wrong note. I had great fun doing it. I hope I get another job!”
One might say that today it is a privilege for anybody to do Shah Rukh’s clothes. But Karan is not ‘anybody’; he is a huge celebrity himself. One might think Karan benefits from his association with such a big star but if you really look at their friendship, I for one would say that Shah Rukh has equally gained from having Karan for a friend.
Today, especially after the blockbuster win of Om Shanti Om, a dreary charge against SRK is that he is media-savvy, like it is a gaali. Anybody who can’t get a good press (currently, Rishi Kapoor and most of the Saawariya satellites) sneer over the two words, ‘media savvy’ like it is a flaw in your personality. But the truth is, Shah Rukh was not always media-savvy. When he made his first film, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, and flopped on his face, he had got the kind of furious backlash that Sanjay Leela Bhansali got this year. Shah Rukh had no friends in the media, he had an issue with most of them (yours truly included) over laughingly trivial items, and right up to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, it was close friend Karan Johar who spoke warmly to the media on his friend’s behalf.
If Shah Rukh Khan has changed for the better you have to credit buddy Karan for the subtle influence he has had over the actor. Hear Karan’s refreshing views on the media and you’ll get an idea of where Shah Rukh has picked up some important lessons.
Says Karan, “Handling the media is really an art, that too requires a certain course.
“You cannot deny the power of the media, you cannot deny that they are a huge platform you need to be on when you have to promote your film or speak about yourself, you cannot deny that they make you the brand you are and you reap the benefits of that. I work in tandem with the media, I like to be there for them just as they have always been there for me. Yes, there are some bad apples but there are those bad apples in any industry, any profession, why just the media?
“When critics praise you, you’re happy. When they criticise you, you say they’re biased. Why can’t we accept that perhaps they just didn’t like your film? I can, even if it does hurt. If tomorrow you write against my film, I’m not going to be loving you for that second, but the next day I’ll wake up and say, ok, I must respect her opinion, I have so many of my own.
“Yes, the electronic media is in your face, the paparazzi is emerging, it’s annoying when you go to an event and you have a hundred cameras on you. But would you not want those hundred people around you? Would you like it if they ignored you and ran after someone else? No, I wouldn’t. I’m sorry to report, I’d be shattered, upset and want to break my head against the nearest wall! I like the shutterbugs when I walk the red carpet and I like the fact that they’re screaming my name for sound bytes. If they didn’t, I’d wonder what went wrong!
“We need the media,” concludes Karan. And you know just how much Shah Rukh has got from Karan when the film-maker says, “Let’s not pretend that we’re going to go out there and bash them because we sound cool at a party. We don’t.
“Media bashing is really passé!”
Thanks, pal.
CelebrityCircus
Labels: Farah Khan, Karan Johar, Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan, Yash Chopra
Posted By Ivan Me ... at 1:02 PM
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
SRK, Farah visit Manoj Kumar
By now its general knowledge that Manoj Kumar aka Mr. Bharat raised an objection stating that he was very deeply hurt with his portrayal in the latest blockbuster Om Shanti Om. And rumors had it that he had demanded the said scene to be deleted from the film.Needless to say that one cannot expect anything but the unexpected from the King Khan. The current status is that SRK and Farah Khan had called press conference to publicly apologize to Manoj Kumar. Meanwhile Mr. Bharat, it seems that, wanted SRK to call on him personally and lend his apology, which was not happening, all thanks to the King Khan’s choc-a-bloc schedules.
That’s when Yash ‘Mr Romance’ Chopra, himself decided to play the mediator between the two by calling Manoj Kumar on Tuesday night amidst his dinner and said that he wanted to drop by, without divulging any further details. Manoj Kumar’s joys knew no bounds when he saw SRK along with his better half, Gauri and Farah accompanying Yash Chopra! SRK soon played the ‘real-life’ Raj of DDLJ and in no time all of them were happy with the outcome of the family re-union!
In the meanwhile, Farah has gone on record to say that Manoj Kumar’s scenes won't be chopped off from Om Shanti Om.
As the dialogue from the film goes “Aakhir mein sab kuch thik hi ho jata hai…”
IndiaFM
Labels: Farah Khan, Gauri Khan, Manoj Kumar, Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan, Yash Chopra
Posted By Ivan Me ... at 2:51 PM
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It’s home, shanti, home!
All’s well that ends well. And there is no more hurt in veteran actor Manoj Kumar’s heart for the spoof on him in Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om.
Kumar, who had objected to these scenes, was unrelenting when Farah and Shah Rukh Khan himself apologised to him publicly in a press conference.
He reportedly wanted SRK to call on him and bury the hatchet. This was not happening because of Shah Rukh’s hectic schedule and string of commitments. And a bitter Kumar expressed his disappointment over the entire issue in the press once again. But, peace was made.
Kumar tells the story: “Yash Chopra played the mediator. I got a call from Yash on Tuesday night at dinner time asking for my address. He said he was in the neighbourhood and wanted to drop by. He didn’t say who was with him. So when my wife opened the door, we were pleasantly surprised to to see Gauri and Shah Rukh Khan, and Farah Khan, with Yash. It felt like a family reunion. We didn’t discuss anything that was bygone. Everybody makes mistakes, but when you realise them, more than half your mistake is pardoned. I don’t hold any grudges against anyone.”
According to the actor who has waved the Indian tricolour more than any politician in the country, the conversation revolved around Shah Rukh’s parents and Kumar’s mother-in-law who were all freedom fighters.
“His father worked closely with my mother-in-law. Even Shah Rukh’s mother was known to us,” said Kumar. The Bollywood Badshah then reminded Mr Bharat (as Manoj Kumar was known) that years ago he wanted to take some pictures with him. “It never happened, though,” said Kumar. “But in the hour they spent with us, Shah Rukh and Gauri clicked pictures with us. It was nice meeting him. He touched my feet. He may be my son’s age but I have a brotherly feeling towards him.”
Some sections of the press have unkindly said that the ageing actor used the Om Shanti Om issue to gain unnecessary publicity for himself.
An aggrieved Kumar retorted, “At this age, publicity this doesn’t matter. What matters is respect from people. We have earned it. And I am glad Shah Rukh belongs to that generation which respects elders. God bless him.” He had one regret, however. “Gauri and Farah, who is pregnant, came to our house and we couldn’t give them any shagun. Never mind, just as our doors are open for Shah Rukh and Gauri, the doors of Mannat will be open to us. My wife and I can go there anytime. And we will not forget to carry the shagun .”
Afsana Ahmed, TNN
Kumar, who had objected to these scenes, was unrelenting when Farah and Shah Rukh Khan himself apologised to him publicly in a press conference.
He reportedly wanted SRK to call on him and bury the hatchet. This was not happening because of Shah Rukh’s hectic schedule and string of commitments. And a bitter Kumar expressed his disappointment over the entire issue in the press once again. But, peace was made.
Kumar tells the story: “Yash Chopra played the mediator. I got a call from Yash on Tuesday night at dinner time asking for my address. He said he was in the neighbourhood and wanted to drop by. He didn’t say who was with him. So when my wife opened the door, we were pleasantly surprised to to see Gauri and Shah Rukh Khan, and Farah Khan, with Yash. It felt like a family reunion. We didn’t discuss anything that was bygone. Everybody makes mistakes, but when you realise them, more than half your mistake is pardoned. I don’t hold any grudges against anyone.”
According to the actor who has waved the Indian tricolour more than any politician in the country, the conversation revolved around Shah Rukh’s parents and Kumar’s mother-in-law who were all freedom fighters.
“His father worked closely with my mother-in-law. Even Shah Rukh’s mother was known to us,” said Kumar. The Bollywood Badshah then reminded Mr Bharat (as Manoj Kumar was known) that years ago he wanted to take some pictures with him. “It never happened, though,” said Kumar. “But in the hour they spent with us, Shah Rukh and Gauri clicked pictures with us. It was nice meeting him. He touched my feet. He may be my son’s age but I have a brotherly feeling towards him.”
Some sections of the press have unkindly said that the ageing actor used the Om Shanti Om issue to gain unnecessary publicity for himself.
An aggrieved Kumar retorted, “At this age, publicity this doesn’t matter. What matters is respect from people. We have earned it. And I am glad Shah Rukh belongs to that generation which respects elders. God bless him.” He had one regret, however. “Gauri and Farah, who is pregnant, came to our house and we couldn’t give them any shagun. Never mind, just as our doors are open for Shah Rukh and Gauri, the doors of Mannat will be open to us. My wife and I can go there anytime. And we will not forget to carry the shagun .”
Afsana Ahmed, TNN
Labels: Farah Khan, Gauri Khan, Manoj Kumar, Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan, Yash Chopra
Posted By Ivan Me ... at 12:00 PM
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