Karan Johar Foxed by the deal!

You’ve apparently inked a deal with 20th Century Fox for an astronomical never-heard-of amount of money?
Let me tell you the amount mentioned is nowhere near being a realistic amount. The deal among Star Fox studios, my company and Red Chillies is an internal matter and can’t be discussed in public. What makes this deal so historic is not the money involved, but the attempt to cross the disapora with a Hindi-language film My Name Is Khan. We’ll reach out in places where Hindi-language films have not gone before.

I am foxed by the deal.

The Fox guys read the script and have followed the project. They’re close enough to it to know what it’s all about. I’ve shared a comfort zone with them from Day 1. Both Shah Rukh and I believe they are the best people to handle My Name Is Khan. They’ve faith in our brand power and content creation. It’s not about money. It’s all about mutual respect.

Is Fox trying to give the Islamic world a more positive image in the West by buying a film about Islamic isolation and the western world?

It’s not the politics of the film. It’s when the film moves you on a human and emotional level that matters. My Name Is Khan endeavors to do just that. I don’t think Fox was swayed by the positive message. It’s the human aspect that won them over. I believe in the emotional content of both my cinema and personal relationships. Look at the longevity of the association between my company Dharma Productions and Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies and you’ll see what I mean.

I’d always want to direct original content. But there’re young filmmakers in my company who are excited by the idea of adapting films. Siddharth Malhotra, for example, is doing a Hindi version of Stepmom for our company. He’s working really hard on it. An adaptation is as difficult as an original film. And Siddharth is working really hard on it.

What is the final cast of Stepmom?

It’s Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.

This entry 12785 was posted on Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Karan Johar . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.