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Joginder Tuteja (DNA; July 18, 2015)

So is Karan Johar’s next directorial, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is based on Yash Chopra’s production, Doosra Aadmi? “No one ever attributes originality. Kaise ho sakta hai original? Ho hi nahi sakta!” he fires back.

Still... is it? “I don’t understand where it is coming from,” he wonders aloud, adding for effect, “For the record, Ae Dil... is not a remake of Doosra Aadmi.”

Okay, fine. In any case, the Ramesh Talwar-directed film, released in 1977, would anyway be too dated to adapt to current times. “I disagree on that point,” says Karan, “In fact, it’s not an outdated film at all. It is a progressive film, perhaps way too progressive for its time.”

He isn’t bothered about rumour mongers, though. Here’s why: “I have combated that throughout my life. People said that Kal Ho Na Ho is a remake of Anand. Then they realised it wasn’t. The story was repeated, no pun intended, for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna too, which they wanted to believe would carry similarities with Silsila. That wasn’t the case either,” he says.

He adds, “I want to take fewer gaps, direct more movies. Also, I think that ab umar bhi ho gayi hai. Jab tak I don’t get mad by the age of 60, I want to make many more movies.”