Yash-Roohi's Homecoming Was Very Dramatic: Karan Johar

It's been over a month since Karan Johar announced the big news of becoming a single dad of surrogate twins- Yash and Roohi. Since then, the ever-busy filmmaker has been on a paternity break playing his new real-life role of a father as perfectly as possible. In an elaborate interview given to Hindustan Times, Karan talks about his new job as a parent and how he feels around his young twins.

"At 44, this is my biggest blockbuster. I still haven’t realised the enormity of what’s happened. They’re only two months old. And all they do is eat, sleep, burp, wail, and poop, while I stare at them in wonder. 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. I get teary-eyed just looking at them."

Son of renowned film producer Yash Johar, Karan, says that his twins are like his new friends in this limited world.

"My universe was Dad, Mom and films. But now there are Roohi and Yash. My two new friends," says the filmmaker.

Karan is excited to give his children every happiness in the world, so much so, that the doting dad has even started planning vacations for them with Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan's son Taimur.

Karan says, "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!”

Sharing his first-day experience as a dada\, Karan recalls the day twins came home from the hospital comparing it with the premiere of his debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. "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. Actually, it was a full on K3G moment! Very dramatic."

Dwelling more on the emotional and filmy side of his twins' homecoming, he adds, "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. These are scenes out of a film but drawn from real life."

Talking about his own expectations as a parent Karan says, "When they were conceived, I was ecstatic, but I told myself I would be a responsible father and not a paranoid mother."

"I knew this was the beginning of a different kind of love story. The start of the best phase of my life. Mothers go through these emotions. Fathers come in later. But I was there right from the start."

Film actor Tusshar Kapoor was the first Indian celebrity to announce his single fatherhood to the world. Karan says that he feels a certain connection with Tusshar because of their common decision to have surrogate children.

According to Karan, there were several factors that made him take this big a decision. The filmmaker wanted positive energy in his life and didn't want to be defined just by his professional success. He says, "I needed to bring this new energy into my life. I didn’t want to be a victim of my achievements. It’s easy to get carried away by who I am. I thought I had lived half my life, and all the things I had done were great, but what about things I hadn’t done? Your achievements are transitional. Emotions are permanent."

Adding more to it, he says, "I've nurtured so many people in the film industry, so many young actors, I’ve been like a parent to them more than a producer and director. I’ve been with them in their professional highs and their emotional meltdowns. But I played devil’s advocate with myself. Was I being selfish? Did I want to have a child only because I was afraid of growing old alone? Would I be an overprotective and overindulgent father because I wouldn’t want my child to accuse me of being a flawed parent and grow up missing a mother? But who’s to tell me that I can’t be a responsible parent and the best mother and father in the world to my kid? This was an emotional, well-thought-out decision made after acknowledging and addressing all the issues facing me, and after considering all the responsibilities and duties that come with being a single parent."

Now Karan's babies are the superstars of his universe. Ever since people have been dropping in non-stop to see them including Alia Bhatt, who comes every other day and sits for hours, reveals the filmmaker.

"Everybody feels a sense of responsibility towards me and mine. Even old friends who have reconnected with me after their birth. Everybody says they are now so happy for me. I’m surprised. I didn’t know so many people were unhappy for me earlier! I wish I had known. I was living a life of delusion thinking everything was great. But I would have enjoyed a moment of self-pity," says Karan

One person the filmmaker owes everything to is his mother. Even now, his mother is there to help him figure out his new role with a never-seen-before energy. "She’s up early, fully made up and with her hair done, ready to face a new day with her grandkids. I’ve never seen her looking younger than she is today," adds Karan.