Never made a special effort to make friends: Karan Johar

"It is because of my personality. An only child is a lonely child and friends make a big difference," Karan, who is returning to television with his chat show 'Koffee with Karan' on November 7, told PTI. The 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' director said he refrains from getting into others' lives beyond a point.

"People's problems with each other is their problem and I stay away from it," Karan said when asked how he managed to remain friends with people who are not on good terms between themselves.

Karan said he understands the dynamics of privacy and his relationships with industry colleagues have grown stronger post the last two seasons of 'Koffee with Karan'. "My show is not to ruin relationships but to strengthen them," he said.

The 38-year-old host is famous for his sense of humour and takes the liberty to pull a leg or two of his celebrity guests on the show. "I have taken potshots at myself and I know others do it too but I take it in the right spirit. My job here is to make my guests comfortable. I never offend them or cross the line. I understand the dynamics of privacy," he said.

When asked why his earlier show with Yashraj on Sony TV, 'Lift Kara de', did not do well, Karan said it was a humanity based show. "The intention was to change lives not ratings. If people did not want to tune in to that show, it was a sad thing," he said.
Since 'Koffee with Karan' is a English language show on an English television channel, Karan said it is not in the race to garner TRPs.

"We are not in the ratings game at all since we are not competing with General Entertainment Channels (GECs)," he said. The filmmaker said the USP of his show was the comfort with which the stars answered his questions.

"Audiences get the feeling of watching a lounge chat with friends," he said, adding that he has shot about 48 to 50 episodes so far. "It is an intimate conversation based show and we would like to keep it that way. I see no reason to add new features like involving a live audience," he added.

When asked why it took him three years to start the third season of his talk show, Karan said he was too busy with films as they are his primary profession. "I was busy producing movies and trying to make a film myself," he said.

He is also slated to remake 'Agneepath' with Hrithik Roshan, which Karan said would go on floors next year, while the pre-production work of the Kareena Kapoor-Imraan Khan starrer 'Short Term Shaadi' is complete and filming will begin soon.