Vasan Bala, the director of ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’ (2018) and ‘Monica, O My Darling’ (2022), opened up to THE WEEK about what made him work under Karan Johar's Dharma Productions for the upcoming Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Jigra'.
Bala once told Johar that he fell asleep watching ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’. Speaking to Namrata Zakaria of THE WEEK about working with Bala, Johar said, “Selecting Vasan was exciting for us because he hasn’t really loved my previous work as a director. He told me he fell asleep watching ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’. I’m not here for everyone to love everything I do. But I loved his honesty.”
Read the full interview with Karan Johar in the upcoming issue of THE WEEK
Clarifying that he doesn't hate Johar's movies, Bala told magazine, “I was neither inspired or begrudged by Johar’s films, as we are different types of storytellers. Somen asked me to meet Karan and when I did, it was refreshing to see someone who didn’t come with an approach that he’s a big producer and I could either take his script or leave it. He asked me what I liked to make. I was convinced this would be an equal creative collaboration, he’s backed me and he’s letting me run with it.”
Bala added this trait of Johar has allowed him to have such a long career, and one that’s still evolving.
'Jigra', co-produced by Alia and Johar, is set to release on September 27, 2024.
In September 2023, Alia posted, “From debuting in a Dharma production (sic) to now producing a film with them, in many ways, it feels like coming full circle from where I started. Every day is a different day…exciting, challenging (and a little scary)… not just as an actor but also as a producer as we bring this film to life, and I CANNOT wait to share more as we move forward. JIGRA - in cinemas on 27th September 2024.”
