'Awaaz ladkiyon jaisi hai': Karan Johar recalls receiving mean comments on his voice; did voice exercises for 2 years

Filmmaker Karan Johar has opened up about being made fun of for his body, the way he walked, and his voice, among other aspects of his personality, during his childhood and youth. In an interview with Raj Shamani, Karan shared how several people would make fun of him, but his parents--late Yash Johar and Hiroo Johar were his "safe space". Karan revealed his father would encourage him to dance his heart out and even suggested that he become an actor. (Also Read | Suhana is ‘terrific’, Aryan a ‘rare personality’ who works 20 hours: Karan Johar defends star kids amid nepotism debate)

Karan recalls being told he has voice like that of a girl

Karan spoke about how he took classes for over two years to bring about a change in his voice. The director said, “But I always combated the world and what they thought of me. I remember I went to a public speaking class. There, those who were teaching me, they stopped me after class and told, ‘Duniya mein samaaj mein aapko bahut problem hoga kyuki aapki jo awaaz hai woh ladkiyon jaisi hai. Usme aap baritone laao. Uske liye hum aapko voice exercises denge (You’ll face problems in life and society because your voice is like that of a girl. We will give you voice exercises)'.”

Karan says today he wouldn't ask a person to change

The director said he lied to his father about his classes because he was ashamed of it. "Toh do saal tak main gaya woh class karne taaki main apne awaaz mein baritone lein aaun (I went there to do class for two years so that I can bring baritone in my voice) to sound like a man. I did the classes for two to three years. I told my father that I was doing computer classes because I was very shy to tell him, I'm going to do this. I was feeling ashamed. After three years, I had a baritone voice. Not only did they teach me baritone, they also taught me how to walk, how to become more masculine. Today main kabhi yeh advice kisi ko na doon (I won't give this advice to anyone). I'll say, 'Be yourself. If you are walking a certain way, do that. If you are talking like this, then continue. Don't change yourself for anyone'."

About Karan's films

Karan made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy-drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). After this, he directed films such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), My Name Is Khan (2010), Student of the Year (2012), Bombay Talkies (2013), and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). His last film as a director was Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023).