"You can't buy loyalty" - Karan Johar

Despite recession, the only independent filmmaking house which went on to helm a number of back to back projects was Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. Despite the man himself directing only one film - My Name Is Khan - he went on to allocate number of first or second time directors to kick start numerous films.

Ayan Mukerji delivered a hit in Wake Up Sid, another debutant Rensil D'Silva wasn't as fortunate with Kurbaan while Tarun Mansukhani made good progress with his animation flick Koochie Koochie Hota Hai and is now getting ready to begin the shooting of Dostana 2. Meanwhile, Siddharth Malhotra has wrapped up We Are Family, remake of Stepmom, Punit Malhotra is all set for the release of I Hate Luv Storys and another newcomer Karan Malhotra has been entrusted with the responsibility of directing Agneepath remake.

With so much happening, one wonders if it indeed becomes difficult for Karan to hold the reins and work on half a dozen projects simultaneously?

"Believe me; it's not difficult at all. All of you have to do is follow a three point 'mantra' - 'Delegation', 'Outsourcing' and 'Trust'. Along with that, if you have the right vision and infrastructure in place, which we do have in Dharma Productions, it isn't difficult to crack it all", explains Karan, "That's the way you manage things and I have been fortunate enough to have a team with which it has become possible to helm number of projects at the same time".

Does he have a contract with all the new directors who kick start their career with his production house?

"Well, we start off with an understanding to make 2-3 films and then they can move on if it is mutually agreeable", says Karan, "More than any written contract, what is most important for me is the loyalty factor. Fortunately, all the directors with whom I am working currently are very loyal for Dharma. I do believe that loyalty is such a rare facet. You can't buy it; it has to come by itself."

Meanwhile, he is happy that for a young film like I Hate Luv Storys, he had a young director like Punit Malhotra in charge. "The film is looking good because of the very fact that Imran and Sonam are young and they are working with a young director like Punit. This has resulted in a sense of youthfulness in the entire process of filmmaking." No wonder, it is expected that the film would explore the untapped side of Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor.

"The very fact that the two haven't come together earlier is something that works in the film's advantage", says Karan, "Their pairing is contributing a lot to this film because it has led to a lot of curiosity value. Both Imran and Sonam have done such a splendid job and they compliment each other exceedingly well."