Alia Bhatt comes every other day and sits for hours with Yash and Roohi: Karan Johar
The film-maker chats about fatherhood, its joys and challenges, and baby poop!
PHOTO: INDIA TODAY
Karan Johar became a father to his twin babies Roohi and Yash Johar, who were born two-and-half months prematurely on February 7. The twins were discharged from hospital on March 29, and has taken over Karan's life. His world now revolve around theirs.
Karan, arguably Bollywood’s most inveterate party animal, has been out much in the last 18 days. Or thought about work. He quite simply has his hands full at home.
Karan Johar becomes father to twins via surrogacy
“My life has changed since Roohi and Yash arrived," Karan said in an interview with Hindustan Times. "At 44, this is my biggest blockbuster. I still haven’t realised the enormity of what’s happened. They’re only two months old. But I can’t get over the fact that they are mine. It’s like a powerful switch has suddenly come on in my life, filling the emptiness in my personal space with new energy. My universe was Dad, Mom and films. But now there are Roohi and Yash. My two new friends."
He went on to say, "I’ve decided that as soon as they are old enough, and before they start school, I’m going to bring Roohi and Yash to the office. Why not! Aren’t they productions of Dharma Productions? I want everybody here to know them. I want them to be all over the place. And I’m already looking at building a crèche here. It will be like Disneyland!"
"I’m also looking forward to them travelling with me when I go outstation on shoots. Bebo’s son Taimur is a few months older than Roohi and Yash, and she and I have already started making plans for holidays together!” he adds.
The nursery Gauri Khan designed for Karan Johar's twins is what dreams are made of
Karan reflected on the day his babies came home, “The day they came home from the hospital is an experience that’s going to stay etched in my memory. Like the premier of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998. It was my first film and I still remember every moment. What I wore. What I said. The day I carried Roohi and Yash home was like that. Life changing. I took my babies straight into the room where my father’s picture is placed. When I saw their reflection in the glass, merging with his image, I closed my eyes in gratitude and experienced the awe of the moment. I knew they had his blessings."
So how has it been since he brought them home? "Fatherhood is proving to be a breathtaking rollercoaster ride. When they were conceived, I was ecstatic, but I told myself I would be a responsible father and not a paranoid mother. Then came the complexities of premature birth. And the heartache of seeing them in the incubator. But I felt a strong sense of ownership. They were my lifelines. A lifelong dream come true," he said.
Having a premature baby is something you don't expect to happen to you: Karan Johar
Talking about his parenting journey so far as a single father, the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil director quipped, “A single father is unusual in India. There are some famous single fathers in the world, celebs who were brave to have babies out of surrogacy but you can’t be inspired by anybody to have a baby out of surrogacy. You have to be emotionally ready. I was also prepared mentally, physically and logistically."
Furthermore, he said that people have been dropping by to see his kids every other day. “People have been dropping in non-stop to see them, they come in shifts, and I’ve been running around serving them tea and snacks. Alia Bhatt comes every other day and sits for hours," he said happily.
Exactly who dictates the do's and don't's of parenthood to Karan? "I want all the help I can I get. I have an entire library of books on baby care. I haven’t read any of them!" he laughed.
Have something to add in the story? Share it in the comments below.
Karan, arguably Bollywood’s most inveterate party animal, has been out much in the last 18 days. Or thought about work. He quite simply has his hands full at home.
Karan Johar becomes father to twins via surrogacy
“My life has changed since Roohi and Yash arrived," Karan said in an interview with Hindustan Times. "At 44, this is my biggest blockbuster. I still haven’t realised the enormity of what’s happened. They’re only two months old. But I can’t get over the fact that they are mine. It’s like a powerful switch has suddenly come on in my life, filling the emptiness in my personal space with new energy. My universe was Dad, Mom and films. But now there are Roohi and Yash. My two new friends."
He went on to say, "I’ve decided that as soon as they are old enough, and before they start school, I’m going to bring Roohi and Yash to the office. Why not! Aren’t they productions of Dharma Productions? I want everybody here to know them. I want them to be all over the place. And I’m already looking at building a crèche here. It will be like Disneyland!"
"I’m also looking forward to them travelling with me when I go outstation on shoots. Bebo’s son Taimur is a few months older than Roohi and Yash, and she and I have already started making plans for holidays together!” he adds.
The nursery Gauri Khan designed for Karan Johar's twins is what dreams are made of
Karan reflected on the day his babies came home, “The day they came home from the hospital is an experience that’s going to stay etched in my memory. Like the premier of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998. It was my first film and I still remember every moment. What I wore. What I said. The day I carried Roohi and Yash home was like that. Life changing. I took my babies straight into the room where my father’s picture is placed. When I saw their reflection in the glass, merging with his image, I closed my eyes in gratitude and experienced the awe of the moment. I knew they had his blessings."
So how has it been since he brought them home? "Fatherhood is proving to be a breathtaking rollercoaster ride. When they were conceived, I was ecstatic, but I told myself I would be a responsible father and not a paranoid mother. Then came the complexities of premature birth. And the heartache of seeing them in the incubator. But I felt a strong sense of ownership. They were my lifelines. A lifelong dream come true," he said.
Having a premature baby is something you don't expect to happen to you: Karan Johar
Talking about his parenting journey so far as a single father, the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil director quipped, “A single father is unusual in India. There are some famous single fathers in the world, celebs who were brave to have babies out of surrogacy but you can’t be inspired by anybody to have a baby out of surrogacy. You have to be emotionally ready. I was also prepared mentally, physically and logistically."
Furthermore, he said that people have been dropping by to see his kids every other day. “People have been dropping in non-stop to see them, they come in shifts, and I’ve been running around serving them tea and snacks. Alia Bhatt comes every other day and sits for hours," he said happily.
Exactly who dictates the do's and don't's of parenthood to Karan? "I want all the help I can I get. I have an entire library of books on baby care. I haven’t read any of them!" he laughed.
Have something to add in the story? Share it in the comments below.