KOFFEE WITH KARAN

shashichief · 1st Moderator

KOFFEE WITH KARAN

shashichief · 1st Moderator

EPISODE 2
KAREENA KAPOOR AND RANI MUKERJI

Karan: There was a low swing and up swing in your career. There was a lull during your "B" grade films, like Badal, Bichoo etc.
Rani: Yes, but I learnt a lot from those movies. That's the time you realize what you want to do and what you don't want to do. That's how you learn to respect the best. I got to know a lot of actors and directors and I share a great rapport with them.

Karan: Rani and I were chatting about how she's become selective today. I don't think you have become selective yet. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Kareena: No, you're absolutely right. I believe in the strategy of Sridevi, Madhuri and Karisma Kapoor. And banking on one or two films in a year is not what I want to do.
Karan: So you disagree with Rani's theory?
Kareena: Well, the films that she has are bankable. She's working with great directors. But I don't know... A mixed bag works for me.

Karan: Can co-stars really be friends? Are you'll friends? I have a lie-o-meter. So whenever I think someone's lying... (beeping the lie-o-meter)
Rani and Kareena: No, we're friends.
Kareena: Let me correct this, we're not the best of friends. She may have gotten ****ed with me, I may have gotten ****ed with her, but she has been with me in situations. She has seen me cry and that means a lot to me.

Karan: You've been linked with all sorts of people. Like you and me, Rani, have been allegedly married. You've been linked with Govinda, who is married. Does that make you uncomfortable?
Rani: You and me will be married one day. (They all laugh)
Karan: Oh, my god! is that a proposal? Go down on your knees.
Rani: No, rumours don't make me uncomfortable. I think the press should get a little more responsible. We just need to do our work and ignore these rumours as at the end of the day we come back home and are answerable to our parents.

Karan: So when a film like Kal Ho Na Ho wasn't offered to you, did it bother you?
Rani: To be honest, I didn't get to hear about it first from you, and we're supposed to be friends! So it hurt a little. And I did go and cry in front of Aamir. I'm telling you this on your show!

Karan: One thing you have that Kareena doesn't?
Kareena: I can answer that, Yash Chopra.
Karan: One thing Kareena has that you don't have?
Rani: Shahid.

shashichief · 1st Moderator

EPISODE 3
PREITY ZINTA AND SAIF ALI KHAN

Karan: Preity Zinta should really have a talk show of her own because she can talk and talk and talk and she doesn't care if you're not listening. Everyone calls her cute but she hates being referred to as bubbly. Why is that?
Preity: I also have my good days and bad days. There are other aspects to my character other than 'bubbly' and 'talkative' (smiles). I can't be bubbly always. Even as a person you know me, I've lots of energy and pep but not ALL THE TIME...

Karan: How do the rumors about Saif Ali Khan, Brett Lee or Brian bother you?
Preity: Uf-Oh! Being single is such a problem. I was just being friendly with these people. And I think I'm pretty honest. If I'm seeing someone, then I say that I'm seeing someone.

Karan: The other day, this huge fan of yours came up to me and asked me if you had a fixation with white men. Is it true that if you're not white, Preity is out of sight?
Preity: (shrieks) You just made that up, didn't you? No, there's no such thing. A, I've to like the person and B, it doesn't matter if you're white, black, gray, pink, orange.
Karan: It's the heart that counts. You're like this Mills & Boon's kind of a girl.
Preity: Yes (gestures) dhak-dhak dhak-dhak dhak-dhak Saif: I think Preity and I share a lot of trust. I've never behaved with her in a manner that's physical.
Karan: But maybe that's not what you give out. When we were in New York, you got a text from Fardeen saying...
Saif: "I heard that you and Preity are at it. Be careful, brother." Just then Amrita called and I told her this is what happened. It creates a certain amount of insecurity when you are in America for 40 days.

Preity: And after that, he ignored me the whole time we were in New York! I'll never get involved with a married man. This rumor is about an alleged romance. And he's my buddy!

Karan: Do you think Preity's attractive as a woman? With or without make up?

Saif: Well, some mornings. (laughs)

Karan: Going back to Kal Ho Na Ho, Saif, you were working in a Shah Rukh Khan domain. How did that make you feel? A little insecure?
Saif: Yeah, well, you'd weep when he performs! But honestly, I did feel insecure very fleetingly. The root of insecurity is not knowing your job really. If you do know what you're doing, then it starts going places. Shah Rukh is not at all selfish as a performer, he's concerned towards the big picture, he's a sort of paternal figure on the sets. It would be infantile to be jealous. He just really loves what he does. I'm basically paranoid. I don't enjoy any movie. I think a good movie is a nightmare. I'd look at Shah Rukh looking a little thoughtful or worried about something and I obviously thought it was me! A persecution complex. But, of course, we talked it out, smoked a cigarette and I realized it wasn't really me.

shashichief · 1st Moderator

EPISODE 4

AISHWARIYA RAI AND SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI

Karan: Miss World 1994, Aishwarya Rai. She has face that can launch a thousand films.
Aishwarya: I'm always greeted with that line - the most beautiful face in the world. I'm awkward, I still don't know what to say to that.
Karan: So you think it would be a change to be told you're not looking nice today? People say you are not spontaneous, that it's all poised and perfect. You are the bride of India who invites a lot of prejudices.
Aishwarya: (laughs) Initially it hurts, but then when you get to know who said, where it's stemming from and why, it's easier to not take it to heart. As a model, I had the natural body language. I was never trained. If people can't accept your natural graces, they attribute it to being put on.

Sanjay: She didn't want to work in my film, Bajirao Mastani, for different reasons. But it was portrayed as a rift.
Aishwarya: Yes, we discussed it in my house. It was his vision as a director. The cast he saw was ideal for the film. But I could not work with the team he planned. We were amicable about it.
Karan: What circumstances? (smirks)
Aishwarya: Well, I was game to play Mastani, but not to the Bajirao he had in mind. But the press said, Aishwarya "walks out on Bajirao-Mastani". He was obviously hurt by that headline.

Karan: How does it feel to see other directors portray Aishwarya in their films? Because admittedly she looked best in your two films.
Sanjay: I don't think they understand the aura of Aishwarya Rai, her beauty. I think she's struggling in other films, groping from the director. But we share such a great rapport. I think she'll be completely deprived of details from others.
Aishwarya and Sanjay: (laugh)

Karan: How is it working with Rani Mukerjee?
Sanjay: Rani is the girl next door. She's completely mad. I had a wonderful working relationship with her. She may not have the aura of a star like Aishwarya, but she is a fantastic actress.
Karan: And, Aishwarya, how does it feel to see someone else being the lead role in his films?
Aishwarya: Working with him is being with a friend. There is a possessive streak but not so much as to not be able to see him working with anyone else.

shashichief · 1st Moderator

EPISODE 5
FARDEEN KHAN AND ZAYED KHAN

Karan: He's stylish. He's sophisticated. He's suave. He may not have box office success, but he certainly has the women. You get the women going, don't you, Fardeen?
Fardeen: That's what I've been told. I don't do anything consciously. (laughs) You want me to stop the bull****?
Karan: Yes, tell us. It must be flattering that women want to do strange things to you. Do you play hard to get?
Fardeen: Yes. It's flattering and a little scary sometimes. I play hard to get every now and then. (laughs)

Karan: I found out that you waited tables when you were a student out of the country.
Fardeen: Yes, when I was in the university, I was on a tight budget. My dad didn't give me too much money. So I worked.
Karan: How was the experience?
Fardeen: I didn't get along with the chef. I took orders as well and when I didn't understand what people asked for, I'd just pretend to know and write something. The chef would come out and yell at me. (laughs)
Karan: I've heard about you doing naughty things in nightclubs. And I mean bashing people up. Is it true?
Zayed: Really? (laughs) Actually I'm very mellow. But if a person rubs me the wrong way once too many times…
Fardeen: Yes, he does have some temper.
Zayed: He shouldn't talk. I learnt it all from him! He just covers his tracks really well (laughs). I'll soon learn hopefully. It was pure self-defense. It was uncalled for. I'm forced into these situations.

Karan: Both of you are westernized and have this 'cool dude' image. Do you think that restricts the roles that come your way, Zayed?
Zayed: The movie business has changed so dramatically. There's a great international market out there that wants to see Indian movies, which make people like me more feasible. I don't think it's stopping me in anyway. I'm not cooler than Bollywood. In my heart of hearts, I'm very Indian, very Bollywood.
Karan: What about you, Fardeen? Do you think you come across alien on screen?
Fardeen: All actors are restricted in some way by their physiology, their looks, demeanor, the whole attitude. You know about casting Karan... I wouldn't play a villager. I would look ridiculous. I would look like Jaadu.
Karan: (laughs)
Fardeen: You got to know your USP. You got to know your strengths, your weaknesses, your limitations, and capitalize on them. I've done contemporary roles, the Gen-X, appealing to both NRIs and city audiences.

Karan: You're in relationship with Malaika, Zayed. I've met her. She's a very sweet girl. There has been controversy with that. There were rumors about you and Esha...
Zayed: Being an actor, this sort of journalism which matches people up, will be there. Esha and me are great friends. We share a great rapport. We're buddies and gestures like putting an arm around each other is read as, "Oh! He's cheating on her!" or They're going out". We are just good friends. She's part of the troop that I go out and party with.
Karan: (smiles) Ok, turning left now.
Fardeen: (Gets up and pretends to run away)
Karan: (laughs) You can't get away, Fardeen, we have security. Kareena Kapoor - alleged romance. Did you have an affair?
Fardeen: No, we didn't have an affair. (Karan beeps his lie-o-meter and laughs). I would've loved that affair if we did. I find her absolutely stunning. She has a cute, almost perfect, heart-shaped butt.
Karan: (laughs) But do you think that's why Shahid has a problem with you? Because he thinks something happened?
Fardeen: I'm sure that impression could go out. But it's with her and me. We are the way we are.

shashichief · 1st Moderator

EPISODE 6
FARAH KHAN AND GURINDER CHADAH

Karan: She's one Indian we are all really proud of. The Indian element in all her movies has put Punjab into every house in Manhattan. They are cross-cultural in theme and represent a certain brand of humour that's typical only of Gurinder. Welcome to my show.
Gurinder: Are you going to be horrible to me? (smiles) The reputation that precedes you and the show says so.

Karan: To start off, congratulations on all your international successes. Bend It Like Beckham made 70 million dollars worldwide?
Gurinder: I made it for the England audience, but I didn't expect the success it was in India and America. What people forget is that we have a very international audience out there, which has its heritage in immigration and migration. My films appeal to those people. The people who have problems with my work are cultural purists.

Karan: People criticize that you are an Indian, but are selling India to the west.
Gurinder: In Britain, I'm a British filmmaker, selling Britain to the world. My husband's American, so I've been adopted by the Hollywood community. I experience all 3 continents. Politicians in India come up to me and say you've made India very proud. At the same time, Tony Blair tells me, "Wow! I love your films. Fly the British flag." I try with my films to bridge the international gap. My films are always British films, from a British Indian perspective.

Karan: Is there a loss of identity at times - a feeling of neither here nor there?
Gurinder: Not at all. It's an affirmation of a new identity and that's what my films are about.

Karan: My next guest tonight is a leading Indian choreographer. She's also a director, who with her first film killed the myth that a woman director makes only films about women and which most often, has an alternate cinema edge to it. Her first film was a man's film all the way. Congratulations on Main Hoon Na. Did you ever believe this would happen to you one day?
Farah: Karan, you've known me. I always knew it would happen. (laughs) I totally believe in commercial cinema. I made it with all my heart and I knew it would be a commercial success.

Karan: Have you found it difficult to be a filmmaker, even in the West?
Gurinder: Only initially, yes. People you go to finances for in the West are not interested in seeing stories from a female point of view. I can make small, arty films, which appeal to the critics, but I'm going for a massive global audience. Just mainstream England is not enough for me. I mix people from different countries and different races. I put Sardars on the map. Bend It Like Beckam was a movie where Sardars were seen as three-dimensional, as human. It's scary to people, as I'm a woman re-writing history and perception as you may see it.
Karan: So you put Punjab on the map. Have you ever felt that, Farah?
Farah: Not until my movie released. Suddenly, men were being threatened by me. They said, "Why has she made this action movie?" They thought just because I'm a woman, I'd make a chick flick or something.
Gurinder: Oh! I've seen her on the sets. She's scary. She's a tyrant. (laughs)
Karan: (laughs) Are you a tyrant too, Gurinder?
Gurinder: No. Actually, I'm quite timid. I go home and make food for my husband. It's about having your own vision. I've had British financers asking me why does this person have to be Indian? It could be a white person. With Bend it Like Beckham, I'm at the forefront of saying that you can make commercial, international movies with people of colour in them.