HindustanTimes.com
New Delhi, November 18, 2006
Bollywood's ace director Karan Johar, enthralled one and all with his witty one-liners and articulate answers at the second day of the Hindustan Times leadership summit in the capital.
Karan participated in the session 'Exploring New Frontiers' and shared stage with former Indian captain Saurav Ganguly. The one hour session saw them speak on a variety of subjects.
Excerpts from the session:
Who is the best actor in Bollywood, besides Shah Rukh and Amitabh Bachchan?
That's a tough one. I think Kajol. She is a fantastic actress. She has amazing screen presence and lights up the screen whenever she makes an appearance. She's a gifted actress, very very talented..I guess just like her mother.
One actor you want to work with.
Aamir Khan. He is one actor who is understated yet a brilliant actor. He is a power-house performer and never fails to make an impact. He's an actor who can convey so much through his eyes.
He was brilliant in Rang De Basanti. I very well remember the last scene which he has with south-Indian actor Siddarth where despite being in background, he stood throughout.
If you have to choose between Aamir and SRK...
Obviously SRK..He is the biggest actor in the world. Statistically speaking, if 4.5 billion people in the world know Tom Cruise, 3.2 billion people know SRK. So, undoubtedly he is the biggest actor in the world.
Three qualities you've imbibed from your Dad?
There are so many things I've learnt from him that it would be difficult to single out three qualities. One thing which I distinctly remember about him is that every morning he would read the obituary column in the newspaper. So, there were so many things that I remember about him.
However speaking about the three qualities that I've imbibed from him, I think first would be respect for all people. Second would be tolerance and third would be business acumen. In fact my mother always says that just like my Dad I'm a terrible businessman.
Don't you always wonder why people ask you about Shahrukh Khan?
I think people ask me about Shah Rukh because they feel he's family and so there's a certain amount of comfort level. Yes, I used to wonder at times.
In fact there have been so many strange stories about the both of us. Earlier I used to be offended and angry as well. More so because he's happliy married and has two kids. I don't think I need to explain where they came from. But now I feel amused to hear these rumours. Both of us have got used to these stories now. Infact, many-a-times I jokingly say that Shah Rukh has two wives, me and Gauri.
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