Karan and Nikhil back as friends

Call it cliched but it's an oft repeated statement when it comes to relationships in Bollywood - 'Nothing is permanent in the industry; whether it is friendship or enmity'. This is why it always makes for a pleasant sight when misunderstandings are cleared and relationships come back to normalcy.

This is what happened recently with Karan Johar and Nikhil Advani, friends for over three decades, who parted ways after Kal Ho Naa Ho. It came as a shocker for quite a few because the film was a major success at the box office and many believed that this 'jodi' would go on to make many more blockbusters in the years to come. Unfortunately that was not the case to be as both treaded different paths in years to follow.

Karan Johar went on to make films with other fresh talent while Nikhil too went independent with films like Salaam- E- Ishq and Chandni Chowk To China. However, it was obvious that both men wouldn't be carrying bad blood for a long duration. With a passage of time, things settled down and both Karan and Nikhil were ready with their next films - My Name Is Khan and Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (directed by debutant Milap Zaveri) respectively. Nikhil openly supported Karan when My Name Is Khan was facing trouble around its release. Meanwhile, what came as a pleasant surprise to all was when Karan spearheaded the campaign for Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai by deciding to introduce the film, its theme and the cast to the world.

This happened at a recently held award function which was co-hosted by Karan Johar. Not just did he announce the arrival of Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai in theatres soon, he also took a personal interest in stating quite a few flattering things about this romantic comedy which stars Riteish Deshmukh and Jacqueline Fernandez as the lead pair. Ensuring that the film gets visibility not just in front of the bigwigs of the film fraternity who were present at the event that was held last week, he (in a way) also announced in a subtle way that he didn't carry any ill-will for Nikhil and his film.

No wonder, writer turned director Milap can be seen smiling from ear to ear. "For me it was a great professional as well as personal moment. For Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai, I obviously want the best. After all it is my first baby. We were aware about the award ceremony and since our film arrives in a month from now, it made sense to have a launch at the biggest of the platforms. What better way to do it than by having someone of the stature of Karan Johar going ahead and talking about your film."

However, while this was a dream that he nurtured, there was always this bit of hesitation around whether Karan would agree to support his film. Milap discussed this with Nikhil and together they decided to approach Karan.

"It didn't take a moment for Karan to say yes to my request", says Milap in a cheerful tone, "Once he heard the concept of the film (which is about a girl from Venus arriving at Earth to find true love), he promised to give his full support. Never once did he bring up the topic of the rift that he had with Nikhil years back. This is why for me it was a personal win as well because no one seemed to be carrying a grudge any more."

When contacted, Nikhil said, "It is a personal matter so it won't be fair on my part to discuss too much around this. Having said that, it is always nice when people support your film. People grow up in life and we have done that as well. Karan has been a dear friend for 37 years and him taking up the mantle to kick start Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai was a great moment for all of us. Now it's upon us to use this platform to our benefit and take the promotion forward. Milap has made a beautiful film and we are very proud of it."

With music by Sajid Wajid and lyrics by Sameer, Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai is presented by Warner Bros and is a co-production of Nikhil Advani and Mukesh Talreja. Also starring Ruslaan Mumtaz, Sonal Sehgal and Vishal Malhotra in principal roles, the film releases all over on 9th April.