Friendship Day: KJo reflects on friendships that shaped him

Mumbai, Aug 2 (IANS) Bollywood multi-hyphenate Karan Johar has reflected on the impact of his friends on his life, and how they always gave him a new direction to think in, or pushed him to make space for himself.

On the occasion of Friendship Day, KJo took to his Instagram, and penned a long note, as he spoke about different friends that life gave him.

He wrote, “I used to look outside of my building window as a PLUS size 7 year old (trust me I am being kind to myself and politically appropriate), I looked at the boys playing gully cricket and my first thought was – why can’t hopscotch (yes I am GEN X that used to be a thing) be a national sport? I was so incapable of either making a run or making a run for it. My second thought was why don’t I have any friends? Being an only child gave me the greatest gift of all time…self pity. So while I was lamenting my Sai bhaji problems (all Sindhis will know this ref) an angel in the form of a gregarious parsee girl named Farzana Muncherjee came into my life”.

He further mentioned, “She swooped me out of my slumber and made me realise I was a hyper melodramatic drama queen and all I needed was to get out of my bedroom and create a new space for myself. She was my first friend. And my journey with friendship began! (47 years later Farzana is a huge part of my heart even today)”.

KJo then spoke about his 2nd friendship, the one that defined him not just personally but also professionally.

He shared, “My second tryst with life long friendship was when I got into the 6th standard 6C to be precise and I was always a 2A 3A 4A 5A kid but a secretarial error put me in a C! I knew no one! I was alone again (self pity pro max was back). My principal put me in front of the class and asked the class (embarrassingly), who will be Karan Johar’s friend?!! (awkward silence) Who!!!?? She asked again!?? (dig a hole Karan and jump into it) and then with Mani Ratnam-esque backlight, a hand went up. His name was Apoorva Mehta (my boss, best friend and CEO of Dharma today). He agreed and then said to me “bring veg snacks from tomorrow” (apparently that was the only criteria). Post that he made me make many friends and I realised I needed to get over my own complexes (weight, effemnity, acne) and embrace myself and people will then embrace me”.

He went on, “I guess it was as simple as that. My friends today are my family. I am blessed with the best friends anyone can ask for! Recently I was in an ICU for 15 days with my mom (she’s back home and doing well now) and I realised how much love I have… no matter what your wealth may be – the only investment that will always reap rich dividends is friendship”.

“I thank all of my friends for being with me through my turbulent days and nights…. I love you all so much and you know who you are!!!!! All of you have my love and loyalty for life”, he added.

–IANS

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