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Directors Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra have had a long working relationship. They have another thing in common, which is actor Rani Mukerji. While Johar has only worked with Rani, Aditya has been married to her for 12 years. In a recent conversation held at the coveted Yash Raj Studios, Rani and Karan discussed her career, their relationship and the invisible man of Bollywood, Rani’s husband, Aditya Chopra.
After talking about her upcoming release, Mardaani 3, Karan wanted to talk about Rani ‘the human’, not Rani ‘the actor’. He started that by talking about Aditya and said, “Now you are married to a myth, and even conjecture about him doesn’t exist. Fortunately, we do know that he does exist. We have had the pleasure of spending time together. I am petrified of him because he carries this paranoia of no image going out. He used to tell me, ‘I am not coming to your house because the press will be there,’ and I used to keep telling him that there is no press.”
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Recalling Rani’s wedding to Aditya, Karan said, “I remember when you both got married, and I was one of the 18 people invited. He turned to me and told me, ‘If the wedding information leaks, it will only be because of you. Because others don’t know anyone else, and you’re the only access to the outside world. Remember, if any trickle of information leaks, it will be your fault.’ I will never forget how stressed I was because 2 States was releasing, and everyone thought I was being insensitive to the film by leaving on the release day.”
However, Karan’s transit to Italy, where the wedding was held, wasn’t all that smooth, as he ended up bumping into legendary actor Rishi Kapoor. He said, “I told everyone that I am just going to Manchester. I was lying through my teeth to everyone, and the first person I bumped into was Chintoo uncle (Rishi) in the airport lounge. He asked me, ‘Where are you going? (Where are you going?)’ “I told him about my plans, and he asked me so many questions, and someone came and told me that my flight to Italy was ready. He caught me and asked me why I was lying, and I was so stressed.”
Karan admitted that Aditya still makes him nervous and that he often thinks that the only reason why he is calling is to fire him. “Even now when he calls me and says my full name, I know that I am going to get fired. He only does that when he wants to reprimand me. I am 53, and I am still petrified of him. If I am reprimanded by anyone, it’s your husband, and I had to speak about him,” said Karan.
For the unversed, Aditya Chopra is the owner and chairman of Yash Raj Studios, which was set up by his father, Yash Chopra, in 1970. He took over the reins in 2012, the same year he lost his father.
