Karan Johar in Bombay Velvet
Karan Johar in Bombay Velvet

What do you offer to a man who has perhaps seen it and done all in the world of movies? Perhaps an opportunity to play the lead antagonist as well? This is what Karan Johar saw as an offer when Anurag Kashyap felt that he was the man for the job to get into the part of Khambata for his most ambitious movie till date, Bombay Velvet. For Karan Johar, who is one of the busiest men around with numerous assignments as a producer, director, anchor, host and more, it wasn’t really a no-brainer, as he had to think hard before taking the plunge. Now that he has, he isn’t regretting it one bit.

He confesses:

Well, honestly I was never nervous. The camera has been my friend for long, I have done talk shows, reality shows and hosted number of award shows so I am not conscious in front of the camera. Yes, to be playing the character of Khambata was different, but it was not scary. I had to get into the look to get the part right, and once that happened, it all automatically worked. Anurag wanted my eyes to be red right through as I had to come across as someone constantly drunk. Now since I drink very rarely and that too a glass of wine socially, I didn’t know how it is to be actually drunk.

So what did he do to get it right?

Well, I have seen alcoholics in the industry as there are many out there and since I am observant, I could bring in that certain sleepiness on my face. Also, my eyes are always red in the film, and for that I had to put something in there daily for the effect. At the end of every day’s shoot, I had a headache – but I knew that it was working for the camera and the look was coming across convincingly. So if people think that I am good then it is not just a happy accident; there are years of work that have gone into it.

Well, we can see that for sure, Karan!