Filmi friendships

By Subhash K Jha

Most dostis among actors and filmmakers are bondings of professional convenience—except for one that seems destined to transcend a bog of false camaraderie: the one between Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar

No wonder Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna is one of the most avidly-watched films of 2006. Sure, it has a cluster of stars. But it's the Johar-Khan combo that has both the trade and the audience agog. "Everyone wants to know what they've done together this time. They all know SRK is in a mood for reinvention," says director Hansal Mehta. That's why, when I heard the stories about Shah Rukh shouting at Karan on location in New York, I smiled.

Of course, Shah Rukh must have shouted. He has the right to do so. Karan has given him the right. In his father's absence, Karan takes the Khan's elder-brother status very seriously. Maybe it's in the air. Maybe it a bhai-product of the extra-cheesy, gal-guy thing that has taken over the minds and libidos of so many filmmakers.

But goodness gracious! So many films about male bonding—from Amitabh Bachchan and Arjun Rampal in Ek Ajnabee and Akshay Kumar and John Abraham in Garam Masala to Abhishek and Riteish in Bluff Master and Akshay and Bobby Deol in Dosti…

Friendship never had it so good. But is true friendship really possible in showbiz? Or are the supposed lifetime bondings only a matter of convenience? I've watched so many filmland friendships go kaput in front of my eyes…

Anupam Kher and Anil Kapoor virtually ate out of the same plate. In fact, I've seen Anupam do exactly that at Anil's residence.

He had just landed in Mumbai early one morning and his wife was out of town. "Arrey, yaar, kuch khaane ko do (Give me something to eat, friend),"Anupam had grumbled. I had smiled. Chalo, one imperishable dosti in a world of sham and show. That's how close they were. Then, both Anil and Anupam decided to make a film on a Gandhian theme. Bas, khallas. Anil stopped talking to Anupam. Gandhi brought freedom to the country. He also ended one of filmdom's most enduring friendships.

They're all fated to go the same way—and with ample reason. Filmi friendships are a practical need-based business. Actors become friendly with filmmakers and their entire family—and then pull out once the show is over.

Ask the amazing J P Dutta how many of the war heroes from LOC returned home after the battle was lost at the box office. I know of only one friendship in filmdom that I trust. And that's Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar. A lot of people believe it's just another need-based camaraderie. "The day Karan signs another leading man , SRK will dump him," a cynical starlet said to me the other day.

I disagree. Besides his mother, Karan knows no other family except Shah Rukh and his wife Gauri. Shah Rukh genuinely treats Karan like a younger brother. I've seen how concerned he is about Karan's foibles and failings, how much he stretches himself to include the filmmaker in his world away from acting, where bona fide relationships can be nurtured. Although Shah Rukh is completely self-willed, I think Karan is the one person apart from his wife whom he listens to. And Karan sincerely cares—not because SRK is King Khan and the hero of his maha-movies, but because in Shah Rukh he sees the big brother he never had.

Unlike other famous director-actor bondings such as Shakti Samanta-Rajesh Khanna and Suneel Darshan-Akshay Kumar, which ended the day the pair was professionally incompatible, KJ-SRK have the capacity to look and seek a common ground beyond work. Go into Karan's home: you'll see pictures of Shah Rukh and his wife. I feel that the day Karan loses that lifeline provided from Mannat, he will cease to be professionally and personally productive.

To his good fortune, Karan is immensely liked by Mrs Khan as well. So many male bondings in day-to-day life go phut because the wife doesn't approve. Mrs Khan has put her foot down about some of her husband's friendships in the past. He has no choice but to comply.

Shah Rukh will never do anything that his wife doesn't want him to. She's not only his reality check but also his lifeline. Karan, I think, fits into the Khan cosmos like a charm. His presence in the megastar's life is both complementary and productive.

I can't think of one friendship in Bollywood that has yielded so much creative, fiscal and emotional returns at the box office. From Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham to Kal Ho Na Ho and the item song in Kaal…

And yet if, today, God forbid, Karan and Shah Rukh decide not to do a movie together, they'd still be friends…

Here's saluting filmdom's only bona fide dosti.