I don't understand the TV game: Karan Johar (Interview)

He's the man behind many a Bollywood hit and has also been a success in his avatars as judge and talk show host on television. But Karan Johar says categorically that he won't be delving into fiction on the small screen because he can't find the right connect.

The director, who connected with the young with his first film "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" in 1998 and continues to narrate young stories like "Student of the Year" even after 15 years, says candidly that he's unable to understand the nitty-gritty of fiction shows and their rating systems.

"I am not interested in producing fiction for Indian television at all, the reason being that I don't understand the medium. I can be a judge or a host; I can do that as an individual. But to produce TV content, you have to know the game," Karan told IANS in an interview.

"You have to know how to cater to the TRPs and I think I will be the wrong choice for it. I don't get it and I don't belong to it," he added.

Although the 41-year-old fights shy of creating fiction shows for the small screen, he has produced and hosted three successful seasons of chat show "Koffee With Karan" for TV.

Later, he made "Lift Kara De". And judged reality shows like "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5" and fourth season of "India's Got Talent".

The filmmaker says he admires people who understand the TRP game and keep up with it.

"Hats off to those who can go through the stress. The ratings go up and down every week and changing your content as per that (is tough). It is bad enough that we have to combat box-office pressures, I don't want to play the TRP game and ruin things for myself."

There was a time when TV produced stars like Smriti Irani, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy, but not any longer.

"The popularity quotient of TV stars is diminishing. We don't have the Ram Kapoors and Ronit Roys any more. Besides Ram and Sakshi, who are still very popular, I guess our quotient of popularity has reduced. I think the whole impact of creating a star on TV is not there too much. I don't think that mania for TV stars is there," he

said.

An overdose of the same genre is the reason, feels Karan.

"I think there was an overdose for a certain kind of TV and finally people are catching up and maybe they are up for a new kind of genre. '24' produced by Colors might be a game changer," he said.

Karan takes his stint on TV forward as a judge on the sixth season of Colors' dance reality show "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa".

He feels that a judge shoulders a lot of responsibility and what he says can make or break someone's career.

"I can't say it is challenging, but it is important that you get the right tonality even when you are judging because what you say matters a lot to the contestant who has worked so hard," he said.

"You can't treat it frivolously. So many careers depend on what you say as everyone wants to win it. All the comments which we make are what they take back with them. We take our job seriously."

(Anjuri Nayar can be contacted at anjuri.n@ians.in)