Karan Johar recently opened up about a personal struggle from his childhood that has had a lasting impact on him.
In a conversation with former tennis star Sania Mirza on her podcast Serving It Up with Sania, the filmmaker spoke at length about being bullied over his obesity as a child.
Karan Johar, 53, said the bullying scarred him for life and influenced his parenting style to the point that he is "paranoid" about his eight-year-old twins Yash and Roohi gaining weight.
"I want to tell you that 50% of me is so scarred by my childhood that I get paranoid that my kids would gain weight. I carry childhood trauma. I keep saying, ‘Don't eat sugar'. But a part of me wants to liberate them from it," the director told Sania Mirza.
Recalling his experiences of exclusion, he added, "I remember I was told, play dabba gul because football is not for you. Those words still echo in my mind. I get angry if my kids miss or bunk a football class because they have too many classes in school."
Karan Johar also confessed to being "in a conflicted zone of parenting". The filmmaker cited concerns about societal pressures and social media that could negatively impact his twins.
"Their screen time is limited, but still, things pop up. Because of things being said at school, I have changed my clothing so they don't have to be afraid of what people will say at school. I am a maximalist, but now I have changed because I am worried about my kids. I am worried they might go online and find some clips that may embarrass them. I want my kids to be accepting of everything and everyone," he said.
Karan Johar welcomed Yash and Roohi via surrogacy in February 2017.
Just after Yash and Roohi were born, the filmmaker had said that he is not "going to be a hysterical, hyper parent".
"I am playing both mother and father in this dynamic, so I have a double role to play and for me, it's even more daunting. I have told myself that I am not going to be a hysterical, hyper parent because I see so many of them around me and especially leading actresses who become mothers. From leading actresses, they become paranoid parents," Karan Johar had said at a book launch.
Yash and Roohi were born prematurely on February 7, 2017 and were kept in a neonatal intensive care unit of a suburban Mumbai hospital for days before their father took them home.
"I still look at them and can't yet believe that they are mine. I am just blessed every morning by their presence. I always say that they are the finest Dharma productions, literally and otherwise," he had said at the time.
Karan Johar is a single parent and co-parents the children with his mother Hiroo Johar.
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