Over the past 26 years, Karan Johar has built a stellar career in films. If he has any regret, it’s that his late producer-father Yash Johar couldn’t witness his success for long. The filmmaker, who is the first guest on Zakir Khan’s new show Aapka Apna Zakir, has opened up about how his father’s journey in the movies prepared him for the industry’s cut-throat nature.

“My father turned producer with Dostana [1980]. I’ve witnessed a lot of failures through my father’s journey, and that is when I realized that nothing is easy. I’ve also seen the way the industry reacted to him when a film didn’t work. It was tough to see him go through all that, but it also makes you resilient,” he recalled.

In the episode, Karan also reminisced about how his father would call him his ‘aankhon ka noor’. “My father used to say, ‘You’re so handsome, you should become a hero!’ My mother [Hiroo Johar] used to roll her eyes, saying, ‘Don’t listen to your dad, you have no qualities of a hero.’ Acting wasn’t something I wanted to do, but my father had full conviction in me. When I made Kuch Kuch Hota Hai [1998], he used to take me everywhere and tell everyone, ‘My son is the best director in all of India.’ He left us too soon. My biggest regret is that he wasn’t with me when Dharma Productions was going through its best phase.”