14 Years of Agneepath: Karan Johar on Yash Johar, Katrina Kaif and closure

As a homage to your father Yash Johar and his Agneepath, you remade the film in 2012?
I’m glad I could remake it and give it a hit status. It was exactly that a homage. A homage is a homage. I never saw it as a remake or an adaptation. For me, it was always a tribute to my father and to his dreams for that film. It was wonderful to see it attain hit status, and I believe we even managed a super-hit status.

Looking back, is there a sense of satisfaction?
I feel my job was done. I don’t compare it with my father’s Agneepath. That film is about a son’s revenge for his father. In a sense, my Agneepath was also my revenge. My Agneepath in 2012 was a son’s revenge, revenge against what, I don’t quite know but I felt my father was so broken at the time he was unfairly labelled a failure. His Agneepath didn’t deserve that tag.

What made you choose Karan Malhotra to direct the film?
I realised Karan Malhotra would be the right person because I had worked with him on My Name Is Khan and we had a wonderful collaboration. He has a solid mainstream sensibility. I knew he would tackle the subject with finesse and the confidence of a seasoned filmmaker which he did.

What about Katrina Kaif’s Chikni Chameli in the Agneepath remake?
We knew we needed a strong entertainment element because the film was heavy in its syntax. We needed a song that would be bright. I have to be eternally grateful for the work Katrina Kaif put into that song. She rehearsed for two weeks it was amazing. There has never been a better item song than that. She gave it so much of her time, energy and sheer will to excel.

Was Chikni Chameli a major USP of Agneepath?
Absolutely. That song became one of the pillars of the film along with Hrithik’s stalwart performance, Karan Malhotra’s filmmaking, and the work of Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor and the entire cast. But Katrina was exceptional in that song. We had always wanted to collaborate. There was a film that never got made. I love Katrina. She remains one of my favourite people in the business. We have always had our own one-on-one bond, independent of work.

It’s rare to preserve a friendship in this industry when there’s no work involved.
I remember meeting Katrina at a party she was quietly standing there, and I went up to her and we chatted. That one-on-one equation started then and continues even now. We meet rarely because we’re all living our own lives, but there is always love in my heart for Katrina. I didn’t give her anything she gave Chikni Chameli to me. If she hadn’t done what she did, the song would never be what it is. It’s all her. It was never anyone else.

Also Read: “Proud”: Karan Johar and Neeraj Ghaywan REACT after Homebound misses Oscars 2026 nomination

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