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Filmmaker Karan Johar recently opened up about the difficulties of being a single parent and his growing concerns over his son Yash's weight gain. In an interview with Faye D’Souza, the acclaimed director revealed that Yash’s increasing sugar intake and subsequent weight gain have made him the type of parent he never wanted to be.
Karan shared a poignant moment from a recent family holiday where he unintentionally fat-shamed Yash. “It breaks my heart when I see my son consuming sugar and putting on weight. I am so paranoid about it. I don’t want to say it to him because this is the age I want him to enjoy life. I want him to be happy and carefree because he is a happy child. But I can see the genetics... I can’t call it a flaw; I get it from my mom, and I know he’s getting it from me,” Karan said.
He confessed that his worries about Yash’s health are pushing him to encourage his son to engage in sports and activities he missed out on as a child. However, Karan finds himself struggling not to impose his anxieties on his children. “I encourage him to play sports, play football, play cricket, do all the things that I didn’t do, and then I think to myself, 'I shouldn’t be this kind of parent. This is not who I wanted to be. I want my child to be his own person of his own choice. I find myself really struggling not to say insensitive things to my own children.”
Recalling the incident during the holiday, Karan admitted to telling Yash he had put on weight and immediately felt deeply apologetic. “I went into my room and said, ‘Why did you do this?’ Then I went outside, hugged him, and said, ‘I’m really sorry, please eat what you want.’”
As a single father, Karan also faces questions from his children about their mother. “I am also dealing with questions like, 'Whose stomach was I born in? Mumma is not mumma, she is my grandmom,’” Karan explained, noting that he is trying to handle the situation with the help of a school counselor.
Karan, who became a father through surrogacy in 2017, is co-parenting his children Yash and Roohi with his 81-year-old mother, Hiroo Johar. Despite the challenges, Karan remains committed to ensuring his children’s happiness and individuality.
