Karan Johar

Karan Johar is one of the leading directors, producers and writers in the Hindi film industry. The son of much-respected film producer Yash Johar, who set up Dharma Productions in 1976, Karan took over his
father’s legacy after the latter’s death in 2004.
An award-winning director, he started out as an assistant to filmmaker Aditya Chopra on the sets of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). Karan made his directorial debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
(1998) which went on to become a blockbuster. He has directed six major films and produced over twenty, all starring some of the biggest names in Bollywood. He recently made his acting debut in Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet (2015).
The multitalented Karan also hosts one of India’s most-watched celebrity chat shows, Koffee with Karan. He has dabbled in fashion design, and even done the costumes for films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya
Le Jayenge, Mohabbatein and Dil To Pagal Hai.
An extremely popular and well-liked member of the film fraternity, Karan has come to be regarded as a spokesman of the industry. In 2007, he was chosen as one of 250 Global Young Leaders by the World
Economic Forum.
Karan has recently become the father of twins, Yash and Roohi.

Poonam Saxena is the national weekend editor with Hindustan Times. She has been a journalist for almost twenty years, first as a freelancer and then as the features editor of Asian Age. She wrote the popular TV
review column ‘Small Screen’ for Hindustan Times for almost ten years.
Recently, she translated Dharamvir Bharati’s iconic novel, Gunahon
Ka Devta, into English (Chander & Sudha).