My deal with Fox Studios is historic: Karan Johar

Karan dismisses reports that his deal with Fox Star Studios for his Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol-starrer is worth $20 mn. He says the deal is not about the money but an attempt to expand the reach of Hindi cinema with `My Name..`. "Let me tell you the amount mentioned is nowhere near being a realistic one. What makes this deal so historic is not the money but the attempt to cross the diaspora with a Hindi-language film," said Karan.

Mumbai: Filmmaker Karan Johar dismisses reports that his deal with Fox Star Studios for his forthcoming Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol-starrer is worth $20 million. He says the deal is not about the money but an attempt to expand the reach of Hindi-language cinema with `My Name Is Khan`."Let me tell you the amount mentioned is nowhere near being a realistic one. The deal among Star Fox Studios, my company (Dharma Productions) and Red Chillies is an internal matter and can`t be discussed in public. What makes this deal so historic is not the money involved but the attempt to cross the diaspora with a Hindi-language film," Karan told reporters.

He also rubbished reports that Fox is trying to give the Islamic world a positive image in the West by buying "My Name Is Khan". "It`s not the politics of the film. It`s when the film moves you on a human and emotional level that matters. `My Name Is Khan` endeavours to do just that. I don`t think Fox was swayed by the positive message. It`s the human aspect that won them over," he said. Excerpts from the interview: Q: You`ve inked a deal with 20th Century Fox for an astronomical never-heard-of amount of money? A: Let me tell you the amount mentioned is nowhere near being a realistic one. The deal among Star Fox Studios, my company and Red Chillies is an internal matter and can`t be discussed in public. What makes this deal so historic is not the money involved but the attempt to cross the diaspora with a Hindi-language film "My Name Is Khan". We`ll reach out in places where Hindi-language films have not gone before. Q: Why Fox Studios? A: The Fox guys read the script and have followed the project. They`re close enough to it to know what it`s all about. I`ve shared a comfort zone with them from day one. Both Shah Rukh and I believe they are the best people to handle "My Name Is Khan". They have faith in our brand power and content creation. It`s not about money. It`s all about mutual respect. Q: Is Fox trying to give the Islamic world a positive image in the West by buying a film about Islamic isolation and the western world? A: It`s not the politics of the film. It`s when the film moves you on a human and emotional level that matters. "My Name Is Khan" endeavours to do just that. I don`t think Fox was swayed by the positive message. It`s the human aspect that won them over. I believe in the emotional content of both my cinema and personal relationships. Look at the longevity of the association between my company Dharma Productions and Shah Rukh Khan`s Red Chillies and you`ll see what I mean. Q: You are adapting Fox`s "Stepmom". Will there be more such adaptations of American films produced by Fox? A: I`d always want to direct original content. But there are young filmmakers in my company who are excited by the idea of adapting films. Siddharth Malhotra, for example, is doing a Hindi version of "Stepmom" for our company. He`s working really hard on it. An adaptation is as difficult as an original film. And Siddharth is working really hard on it. Q: What is the final cast of "Stepmom"? A: It`s Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. IANS