I am ready to take risky decisions: Karan Johar

Lets talk about Jhalak?
It’s the first time doing a dance reality show, it seems to be falling into place for me. I gel well with the other two judges. I love song and dance, which is part of our cinema and DNA, it’s also truly an aesthetic show on TV today.

Such shows work as a showreel for the contestants. Agree?
Everyone on the show benefits in different ways. The urban viewers’ acceptance of the show is huge so everyone has leveraged their success in different ways. I have seen Gurmeet (Choudhury), last year’s winner dancing on other shows, Karan Wahi hosting shows, Manish Paul and Bharti Singh doing films. So there is an upside for everyone whether it’s getting films or more television.

This season, there is an attempt to infuse more humour. Doesn’t that dilute the core of the show which is dance?
We are a country that thrives on entertainment, so there has to be humour in our proceedings. But that won’t overshadow the dancing. This year, the focus is much more on dance, and we have been told to up the scale of judging which will be brutal, honest and much more serious in our comments. 

Unlike the West, the judges here are soft on the contestants? Why?
That’s true. But I don’t lie and stay honest to what I am doing. You can use words without offending the other person. It’s easy to say things like ‘Oh I didn’t like it’ and come across as nasty and rude but that’s not fair to the celebrity contestants because they are used to being mollycoddled. And I know how tough it is to take criticism. There is a way of doing it, padding it but eventually there is a reflection in the scores. It’s all about wording it right.

Which international shows would you love to judge or a fiction show you would like to bring it to Indian screens?
I have always loved the original of Jhalak, which is Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. The quality in dancing is tremendous and we are trying to Indianise it with Jhalak with our own tadka because after all we have to consider the glorious TRPs.

So as they say when in Rome, do as the Romans do, while in India we have to do everything Indian with the show. Also, I love Homeland. The quality of writing in foreign shows is tremendous. But then every time even something half-way sensible has come to Indian television, it has failed. But I am looking forward to 24, it could be a gamechanger and alter the content on television.

How do you think your father would have responded to your short film in Bombay Talkies?
The fact that I had even attempted to do something different would have made him proud.

He was a very progressive man and one of the few who way back then had dabbled with international cinema and was a line producer on films like Gandhi and David Lean’s The Passage to India. He has always worked closely with the western world. His exposure was very high.

Your plans for the next decade?
I am excited with the growth of my company. The 30s were dedicated to building my company, Dharma Productions, after the demise of my father. I built it to the level where I could take risky decisions and 40s would be the time when I would take those decisions.

Right now, it’s all about me and my company and the work I do.

Whenever you are seen with Salman Khan or Aamir Khan, there is speculation about a project in the offing?
My personal relationships have got nothing to do with my professional endeavours. I have known Aamir and Salman for years. My dad was close to Salman’s dad and his family.

We are friends but that doesn’t mean we have to work with each other and despite that, our relationships are very strong. So if I am seen with them it’s because I love their company and I respect them as individuals and movie stars but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a reason for me to work with them.

If I work with them, it will be because I have looked up to them, their work and their star-power. In fact, Aamir is the only star I haven’t worked with. I have directed Salman, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik  Roshan and produced a film with Ranbir Kapoor. It’s only Aamir I haven’t worked with professionally and I hope to get that opportunity because he’s a living legend.