Directors Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra They have had a long working relationship. They have another thing in common, which is actor Rani Mukerji. While Johar has only worked with Rani, Aditya He has been married to her for 12 years. In a recent conversation held at the coveted Yash Raj Studios, Rani and Karan spoke about their career, their relationship and Bollywood’s invisible man, Rani’s husband Aditya Chopra.
After talking about his next release.Mardaani 3Karan wanted to talk about Rani “the human”, not Rani “the actress”. She started talking about Aditya and said, “You are now married to a myth, and there is not even speculation about him. Fortunately, we know that there is. We have had the pleasure of spending time together. I am petrified of him because he carries this paranoia that there is no image. He used to tell me, ‘I am not going to your house because the press will be there,’ and I used to tell him that there is no press.”
Recalling Rani’s wedding with Aditya, Karan said, “I remember when they both got married and I was one of the 18 people invited. She turned to me and said, ‘If the wedding information leaks, it will be only because of you. Because others don’t know anyone else.’ and you are the only access to the outside world. Remember, if any thread of information is leaked, it will be your fault. “I’ll never forget how stressed I was because 2 States was coming out and everyone thought I was being insensitive to the movie by leaving on opening day.”
However, Karan’s journey to Italy, where the wedding took place, was not so easy, as he ended up bumping into legendary actor Rishi Kapoor. He said: “I told everyone I was just going to Manchester. I was lying to everyone, and the first person I bumped into was Chintoo uncle (Rishi) in the airport lounge. He asked me: ‘Kaha haa raha hai (Where are you going?)’ “I told him my plans and he asked me a lot of questions, and someone came and told me my flight to Italy was ready. He caught me and asked me why I was lying, and I was so stressed.”
Karan admitted that Aditya still makes him nervous and that he often thinks that the only reason he calls is to fire him. “Even now, when he calls me and says my full name, I know he’s going to fire me. He only does it when he wants to reprimand me. I’m 53 and I’m still petrified of him. If anyone reprimands me, it’s her husband, and I had to talk about him,” Karan said.
For the unversed, Aditya Chopra is the owner and chairman of Yash Raj Studios, which was set up by his father, Yash Chopra, in 1970. He took the reins in 2012, the same year he lost his father.