Karan Johar : I am beyond power lists

Filmmaker Karan Johar, in his own words, is "a Jack of all trades, and master of none". That's just misplaced modesty, given the impressive portfolio of films directed and produced by him. Karan's the master of his fame and game, with his film production company, Dharma Productions being the only one perhaps to rival the goliath in the business, Yash Raj Films. Karan looks up to the YRF scion Aditya Chopra as his mentor and has "learnt everything about filmmaking from Yash Uncle and Adi. YRF is the premier studio of the country and the studio culture in India has to be attributed to them."

For someone who started his career with a blockbuster, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) starring Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan, Karan seems to have fed off their star power, especially SRK's, for a while. Did SRK's dominant presence so early on in his career bolster his strong foothold in the business? "Definitely! I am destiny's child. Shah Rukh worked with me in my first film and gave my career a tremendous kick-start and I will be eternally grateful for that. Shah Rukh and Adi have been extremely instrumental in building my career."

Karan's expanded his brand, as a talk show host on Koffee With Karan, a judge on Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, endorsing clothing and coffee brands, turning himself into a celebrity, just like the stars he works with. "I love the appreciation and applause and I think a series of events have led to that, particularly my talk show, with which I became media myself. I love posing for the paparazzi and enjoy the trappings of showbiz!"

Reams of news space in recent years has been devoted to the strained dynamics between SRK and him, which Karan sums up as "a very long association of love and appreciation for each other which can never change, despite what's being said and written." But soon after the freeze, Karan, started reaching out to the other super stars in the ring, namely Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, in a bid to change the perception that he only worked with SRK. Salman opened the Koffee season this year, with Aamir and Akshay added to the star roster. But SRK's absence from the show this time around was as glaring as the noonday sun on the Mojave Desert!

After all the big star stuff, Karan has now created his own little army of stars by launching talents like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra.

The realigning strategy seems to have finally paid off with Salman working in his next, Shuddhi, that rolls mid 2015. "I have a solid equation with Aamir and Akshay and it'd be an honour to work with them. I'd love to work with everyone. Dharma is a company that I'm still building and it can only be enhanced by superior film entities who'll take it to a higher level." Interestingly, Karan is best friends, by his own admission, with Bollywood's superstar wives - Gauri Khan, Twinkle Khanna and Kiran Rao and they must make access to their husbands a tad easier, aside from the great photo ops.

Does he manoeuver the media to his advantage? "I'm media savvy, but I never manipulate anyone or the media. No amount of media can impact a film or a celebrity. Spreading rumours just helps the media, but does not do anything for the film."

Success and power are inextricably linked, and undeniably, Karan is successful in whatever he chooses to do, but does that make him the most powerful man in Bollywood? Definitely not to the inner sanctum of the big players in the business. They treat him in a light, humourous vein, taking only his films seriously.

"I definitely don't think I am the most powerful man in Bollywood and frankly, I'm quite embarrassed even discussing this. I just love my job and try to do it to the best of my artistic sensibilities. I feel numbers and power lists dilute the impact of one's creative work. I am beyond power lists and in the end, we leave behind films, not numbers."

You said it Karan!