Best episodes of Koffee with Karan: Part 1

Karan Johar is a man of myriad hues. Not only is he an accomplished director, but also a munificent producer, the judge on a popular dance reality show and a supremely articulate and witty awards show and TV host. His chat show ‘Koffee with Karan’ was first broadcast in 2004 and became a smash hit with the audience. The who’s who of B-Town were seen letting their guard down and opening up about their personal and professional lives on the show as Karan ensured the tenor and ambience remained lively and waggish. The enormous popularity of the show compelled the channel to come up with two more seasons (2007 and 2010) and the each episode grabbed a lot of eyeballs. With each season, Karan upped the ante and the conversation/questions became more intriguing and peppy. The format of the show is tailor-made for Karan’s personality as he’s eloquent and entertaining in equal measure. Also, the fact that Karan knows most of the guests on a personal level comes in handy as they (guests) feel at ease talking about the otherwise tendentious topics. They shoot the breeze with engaging candor and bustling badinage as the viewers lap up the fetching fun and frolic with gargantuan glee.

The fourth season of the show starts from December 1 and the first guest on the couch is Salman Khan, the enfant terrible of Bollywood. As you gear up for another round of a volley of arresting questions, Indicine brings you the appetizing precursor.

Here are our pick of ten most entertaining episodes of the ‘Koffee with Karan’ from the last three seasons (in no particular order)..

1) Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh (1st season): Neetu Singh made her first appearance on a TV show after a hiatus of almost 20 years. While Rishi Kapoor looked dapper in black suit and oozed aristocratic charm laced with saucy zingers, Neetu Singh radiated resplendence and poise. They were exceptionally forthright in talking about their personal and professional lives. Neetu Singh fondly recalled their courtship period before marriage and how she was a conduit between Rishi Kapoor and his girlfriends, and also a shoulder to cry on. She had audience in splits while talking about Rishi Kapoor’s various idiocyncracies and his penchant for grandiose lexicon. They also came clean about a brief period in their mariage when everything wasn’t hunky-dory.

Karan complimented Neetu Singh about how gorgeous and elegant she looked and revealed that he had offered her a role in ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ which she declined. He expressed hope that one day he would convince her to make a comeback on the silver screen with a movie of his production house. The best line of not just the episode but the season was when Karan asked Rishi Kapoor a piece of advice would he like to give to his son Ranbir Kapoor (This episode was broadcast in 2004 and Ranbir had not made his debut till that point of time) and Rishi Kapoor replied, “Don’t take failures on your heart and never let success go to your head.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TrSfyizsr4

2) Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee (1st season): Both the leading female actors are close friends of Karan and they both had a few confessions to make to the host. Kareena owned up that it was a huge mistake on her part to decline the role of ‘Naina’ in ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’, more so because she had disappointed a friend. Rani admitted that she was extremely hurt because Karan didn’t tell her anyting about the casting of the movie and she got to know it from the press. She added that she was not upset at not geting the leading role but because she felt that as a friend Karan should have told him about the project. Also, it was the first time Kareena admitted on record about her then relationship with Shahid Kapoor.

Though Rani was slightly discreet in the ‘Rapid Fire’ round, Kareena was exuberant and doled out some wacky witticism. When asked what would she say if she’s offered ‘Murder 2’, she retorted with nonchalance, “5 crore”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZiL8h5nzco

3) Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol (1st season): It is not often you see reticent and unassuming Sunny Deol agreeing for a chat show. Contrary to his onscreen image, Sunny is a very shy and gentle guy. It was heartwarming to see him and his brother Bobby Deol discussing their family and the strong bond which binds them. The deep mutual respect and immense fondness they’ve for each other shone through. Sunny was charmingly mild-mannered while Bobby was engagingly extrovert. Sunny chose ‘Gadar’over ‘Sholay’ as his favourite movie while Bobbt preferred ‘Sholay’. Dharmendra too talked about both his sons through video message and described Sunny as a “perfect son”.

Karan’s introduction line was snappy and succinct. “In North India, you can’t do away with two things – Dhols (drums) and Deols.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASoXvjpfjxc

4) Sanjay Dutt and Priya Dutt (2nd season): This, probably, remains the most emotionally sonorous episode among all the seasons of ‘Koffee with Karan’. Sanjay waxed eloquent about his turbulent past and also the time he spent in the jail. He spoke about the series of unfortunate events which unfolded in a sequence mae him a restrained and humble man. He also said that both ‘Munna Bhai’ movies changed his outlook towards the life and it brought him closer to the audience who started to see him in different light. The conversation exhibited the reigning virtues of Sanjay – earnest, resilient and slightly vulnerable.

Priya shared the memories of their father (Sunil Dutt) and expounded that Sanjay remained the favourite child of late Sunil Dutt and he was concerned about him (Sanjay) till his last breath. He (Sunil Dutt) told Priya that though she’s younger, she must take care of Sanjay after his demise. Priya said that she was massively relieved when the court announced its verdict that Sanjay is not a terrorist. The most beatific moment of the show was when Karan asked Priya to rate Sanjay as a human being on the scale of 10 and she gave 10/10. Sanjay was deeply moved and hugged her immediately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxrQF5zNz-k

5) Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan: This was, by far, the most amusing, jaunty and rollicking episode of Koffee with Karan (including all three seasons). SRK and Farah were a riot together making the viewers crack up at the drop of a hat. Both of them took sprightly swipes at others and also at themselves with impish impunity. Karan, SRK and Farah have been closest friends from last 20 years and that accounted for the zany nimbus. While Farah claimed, with tongue in cheek, that Karan only makes movies for NRIs, SRK joked that Farah is on the prowl like Norman Bates of ‘Pyscho’ during the release of her movies.

The ‘Rapid Fire’ round was an absolute madcap. Farah impersonated various directors while SRK funnily called Farah, ‘cheap, crude and vulgar.” Here’s a tidbit for SRK and Salman fans… When Karan asked SRK who is the biggest superstar of India besides himself, the latter replied, “I’ve great amount of respect for the kind of work Salman has done. He has been a huge, huge star for a long time and that too without working with big banners.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa2bDHo0Khk

The second part in the ‘Best episode of Koffee with Karan’ series will be published in a couple of hours. Stay tuned!

Article by Navneet Mundhra (tweets @navneet_mundhra)