Karan Johar Says His Trauma Makes Him Worry About Kids Yash, Roohi's Weight: 'I Get Angry Because...'

Karan Johar has always been candid about his body image issues and how he was bullied as a child for being a plus-size kid. As such, he gets worried if his kids, Yash and Roohi, gain weight, eat too much

sugar or miss their sports practices. In a recent chat with Sania Mirza, Karan opened up about projecting his issues on his kids and how children today get pressurised by social media.

Karan Johar said, “I know kids in school who have Instagram accounts and already feel anxious about their looks, their bodies, and even the number of followers they have. It’s crazy — they’re just kids. When we were growing up, no one cared about what you wore or how you looked.”

Karan shared, “I was a plus-sized kid, and though I was allowed to be happy, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for kids like me today. Children — and even adults — can be ruthless. It’s a toxic, unfortunate time.”

The filmmaker opened up about his issues reflecting on his kids and said, “Fifty per cent of me is scarred from my childhood. I’m paranoid that my kids will put on weight. I keep telling them, ‘Don’t eat sugar. Dadda ate a lot of sugar, and he suffered.’ When they skip a sport or bunk football, I get angry because no one pushed me back then. I was always the liability — nobody wanted me on their team. They’d say, ‘Football is not for you, play dabba gul with the girls.’”

“Whenever I went through emotional pain as a child, food was my solace. But when I realised what it was doing to my body, I developed a toxic relationship with it. There’s a scene in Dil Dhadakne Do where Shefali Shah’s character eats cake secretly — that scene made me cry. I used to do that. I once told a lady in Breach Candy it was my birthday just to order her delicious cake four times a year. I’d eat it all by myself. That gave me joy,” he mentioned.

Although Karan has lost weight recently, he has yet to feel comfortable. He said, “I am not comfortable in my own skin. Even today, with some weight gone, I’m only 10% more at ease. Deep inside, I’ll always be that plus-sized boy. I was teased so much that I developed huge insecurities about showing any part of my body.”

However, he is on the path of self-acceptance. “On a recent vacation to Italy, I wore shorts and even posted a picture on Instagram — something I would’ve never done before. Some people appreciated it, others trolled me saying, ‘Yeh buddha pagal ho gaya hai, apna chest kyu dikha raha hai?’ But I didn’t care. My body, my wish,” the filmmaker concluded.