Happy Birthday, Karan Johar. Entertainer Of The Year @48

Karan Johar, Bollywood's busiest multi-tasker, turns 48 today. From directing to producing to anchoring a talk show to acting, Karan's done it all.

Here's a pictorial look at his journey so far

Karan Johar, born on May 25, 1972, is the only son of late film producer Yash Johar and his wife Hiroo. He went to Mumbai's Greenlawns High School and graduated from H R College of Commerce and Economics.

Karan Johar began his Bollywood career by assisting cousin Aditya Chopra who was directing his first movie, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). He also played Shah Rukh Khan's college buddy in the film which turned out to be a blockbuster.



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KJo then helped design costumes for Shah Rukh Khan in movies such as Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Duplicate (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Main Hoon Na (2004), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Om Shanti Om (2007). In 2014, KJo launched a fashion line in association with Vero Moda, labeled Marquee.



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In 1998, he directed his first movie, the hugely successful Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The movie, which won a National Award and eight Filmfare Awards, featured Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji.

Karan originally wanted to cast Aishwarya Rai in Rani's role.

His next movie, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), featured his favourite onscreen couple Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol besides boasting of a huge star cast consisting of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan. The film was again a mega hit and bagged five Filmfare Awards.

KJo was the writer and producer of the 2003 blockbuster Kal Ho Naa Ho, directed by Nikhil Advani. The movie, which featured Shah Rukh Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, was a box office success and won eight Filmfare and two National Awards.

In 2004, KJo made his small screen debut as a host of the celebrity talk show Koffee With Karan. The show was a roaring success and continued to have successful seasons in 2007, 2012, 2013 and 2014. He was also seen in TV show Lift Kara De in the year 2010 and has judged reality shows such as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and India's Got Talent.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which released in 2006, dealt with extra-marital affairs and starred Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan. The film was a hit and KJo received rave reviews for his delicate handling of a sensitive matter.

In 2008, KJo produced Dostana, a romantic comedy in which two men (played by Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham) fall in love with the same girl (played by Priyanka Chopra). The movie was a runaway hit and did brisk business at the box office.

The year 2009 saw him producing two films, Ayan Mukerji's Wake Up Sid and Rensil D'Silva's Kurbaan. My Name Is Khan, which released in 2010, again featured his favourite jodi Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol and won Karan Johar the Filmfare Award for Best Director.

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KJo's production Agneepath, which released in 2012, featured Hrithik Roshan and Sanjay Dutt and was a huge hit. On the other hand, the romantic comedy, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, starring Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan, which also released the same year, did average business at the box office.

Karan Johar returned to directing with Student Of The Year in 2012. The movie introduced three newcomers - Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt - and did fairly well at the box office.

Karan Johar also co-directed the anthology Bombay Talkies in 2013 with Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Zoya Akhtar.



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In 2013, Karan Johar produced the romcom Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The movie, which starred Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, set the cash registers ringing and was one of the biggest hits of the year.



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In 2014, Karan Johar produced four films. 2 States, based on Chetan Bhagat's novel of the same name, featured Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor. It crossed the 100 crore mark at the box office. He also produced Hasee Toh Phasee featuring Parineeti Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania starred Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, and was loosely based on Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayege. The Rensil D'Silva-directed Ungli, however, was a flop.



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In 2015, Karan made a full-fledged acting debut playing an unscrupulous Parsi businessman in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet, co-starring Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

His production Brothers, with Akshay Kumar, Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez, also released in the same year.

In 2016, Karan's Kapoor and Sons with Alia, Sidharth and Fawad Khan released to phenomenal reviews and was also a declared a winner at the box office.

He directed Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

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He welcomed his twin kids, Yash and Roohi through surrogacy in 2017. He also produced OK Jaanu starring Shraddha Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur, Badrinath Ki Dulhania starring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan and Ittefaq starring Sidharth Malhotra.

In 2018, Karan Johar directed a segment of Netflix's anthology film Lust Stories. He also produced the films Raazi, Dhadak and Simmba.

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In 2019, Karan Johar produced Kesari starring Akshay Kumar, Kalank starring Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sanjay Dutt, Student Of The Year 2 starring Ananya Panday, Tiger Shroff and Tara Sutaria and Drive featuring Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez. He also produced the comedy-drama Good Newwz which starred Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani and Diljit Dosanjh.

The image was posted on Instagram by Karan Johar.

Karan Johar directed a segment of the Netflix's anthology film Ghost Stories. His upcoming projects include Rohit Shetty's cop-drama Sooryavanshi and Ayan Mukherji's film Brahmastra He will also direct Takht which boasts of a cast ensemble that includes Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar and Janhvi Kapoor.

Here's wishing the multi-talented director a very happy birthday.