Devil's Advocate Special: Question time for 'devil'

KARAN WITH KARAN: Filmmaker Karan Johar (L) questions Karan Thapar in a 'Devil's Advocate' special.

        

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Keywords: Karan Thapar, Karan Johar

Karan Johar: So what happened with good old Ram Jethmalani? Why did you fluster him the way you did?

Karan Thapar: I may have flustered Ram Jethmalani on camera but I must tell the audience that in fact after that was over he was a complete gentleman and he said to me, let’s have a drink. I said you really want me to stay for drinks and he said: “of course, we will have a bloody whisky.”

That was just an act. He is a naturally tempestuous, sometimes irascible individual; he gets worked up but that is not anger—it is a sort of short-temperedness and volubility but nothing more. He didn’t mean any of the anger, nor did he mean it when he was saying get out of my house.

Karan Johar: You didn’t take it seriously either.

Karan Thapar: Not at all. I knew he didn’t mean it. In fact I kept saying please say it a couple of times more because this is the sort thing that thrills audiences.

Karan Johar: What is your favourite interview and with who?

Karan Thapar: I think it would have to be an interview with Kapil Dev when he broke down and started crying. Not because it was such a great achievement on my part, because I didn’t make him cry, but because it attracted so much attention and has been talked about. Obviously, as an interviewer, you want what you do to be talked about.

Karan Johar: You found him breaking down a success?

Karan Thapar: There are three things which make for great TV: children, who are adorable no matter what they are doing, anger, which is riveting and which is why Ram Jethmalani worked well, and people crying—it’s mesmerising, you can’t take your eyes off someone crying.

When Kapil was crying in front of me the one thought in my head was: I have got to make sure this continues, I can’t let it stop. The worst thing would be for the man, who had broken down five minutes ago, to be suddenly cheerful. So without appearing to be vicious and nasty I kept on a line of questioning that I knew would keep him emotionally soft.

Karan Johar: Who is a nightmare to interview?

Karan Thapar: A R Rehman, because in those days he was exceedingly shy; his long answer was ‘umm’ and his short answer was ‘um’. Most of his answers were ‘umm’.