Karan Johar on the need for love: You become the loneliest at your peak, not at your lowest.
Karan Johar opened up about feeling lonely on Sania Mirza’s podcast Despite admitting his loneliness, he admitted that he was once very keen on companionship. The filmmaker said that if love ever came his way, he would still embrace it “with open arms like Shah Rukh Khan”.
Karan Johar recently spoke very vulnerably in a recent interview, where he admitted to feeling lonely at times, especially when he has no one to eat with or celebrate his achievements with. While the filmmaker has admitted his loneliness, he also believes in “never say never” when it comes to finding love again.
But Sania MirzaIn the podcast, Karan reflected on his emotional journey, saying, “I’m okay now. There was a time when I really wanted love. I wanted companionship, I wanted a relationship. And I went through all kinds of dynamics, broken hearts and unrequited love. I even made a film (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil) on it. That was cathartic; it helped me heal.”
He said that many people advised him to look for love abroad, but his responsibilities kept him stuck to his roots. “Where to go? I live here, I have my mother and two kids. I have to stay here. I have gone through those times and I get lonely; it is a reality. You are loneliest at your highs, not at your lows. Eating alone is another thing that makes you feel lonely,” he added.
Despite making peace with his relationship status, Karan has not completely closed the chapter on romance. He said that if love ever comes his way, he would welcome it “with open arms like Shah Rukh Khan”. Addressing the irony of creating iconic Bollywood love stories without any story of his own, Karan said, “God didn’t make that pair for me (God did not make any partner for me).”
Karan has always kept his dating life private. One of the few stories that he has openly mentioned is his childhood crush on Twinkle Khanna, who later married Akshay Kumar but is one of his closest friends.
On several occasions, including an emotional moment during ‘Koffee with Karan’ when he watched Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s wedding video, the filmmaker has expressed that seeing his friends in love often makes him yearn for companionship. While he has spoken about unrequited and unfulfilled love in the past, Karan has never revealed names, choosing to keep those chapters of his life private.