Karan Johar is all set to brew some hot Koffee with Indian celebrities. Loaded with juicy gossips, spicy tales and unfiltered fun, the 7th season of Koffee With Karan is premiering on Disney+Hotstar tomorrow. Ahead of its premiere, Karan spoke to PeepingMoon.com's founder Mark Manuel about conceptualizing the show in 2004, which was also the year he lost his father Yash Johar. He also revealed his father's reaction to the idea of launching Koffee With Karan.
Sharing his father's reaction, Karan told us, "When my father was alive, I had told him this thought and he said, "Accha tum apne doston ko bulaoge aur baat karoge aur log dekhenge yeh?" I was like 'yes, stars seem interested'. I went and quoted a star number which I thought was too tiny and he thought it was too much. He said, "Why would someone pay you for calling your friends and talking to them joh tu roz party mein karta hai?" He didn't understand the logic. He asked me, "Tu Tabassum banna chahta hai? After Tabassum, there was Simi Garewal. He told me, "Tu aise show karna chahta hai aur itne paise le raha hai?" His whole thing was why would someone pay so much for a show like this."
The filmmaker further added, "When he passed away, I took a few weeks as I wasn't emotionally prepared. Stars still pursued me. I signed a contract for 2 seasons (of Koffee With Karan) and they paid me 5 times the amount my father was aware of. Even then I didn't think the show would be what it was."
Recalling the day the first episode of Koffee With Karan premiered, Karan shared, "I remember the first day of its telecast, I was at a funeral. A close family friend's grandfather had passed away and we were around 100 people. At that time, one wouldn't think of keeping the phone in silent mode. Around the telecast time, my phone started buzzing. It was a bizarre feeling. Everyone in front of me was sad and I was dying to see the reactions to the first episode of the show. After the funeral, I rushed to my car and saw at least 100 messages. I never expected that the show would get this kind of reaction. Now, 18 years later I am sitting here, having done 7 seasons and I cannot believe we lasted this long. This is not something I imagined or dreamt of."
Watch the video here:
Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt will be opening the 7th season of Koffee With Karan. After acting in Gully Boy, the actors have teamed up for Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, which is directed and produced by Karan.