Karan Johar made his Bollywood directorial debut back in 1998 (with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai). But in spite of always being in the news, he’s only directed five films in 14 years. And the man seems to be in no hurry with his next project either. In fact, he won’t have a release in 2013. Karan says, “It’s true that my next film will go on floors only by the end of next year. Nothing else is decided yet. I’m still working on the script.” With his last film, Student Of The Year, it was the first time that the director chose to feature newcomers rather than his go-to superstar, Shah Rukh Khan. Karan promises to go back to the established actor route with his next. “I can only state that it will have a huge star cast,” he says. Conjectures abound, however, on which actors will comprise that major star cast. There were some media reports claiming that Ranbir Kapoor will star in a period drama that Karan’s directing. There were also talks that suggested that the newlywed couple, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, will star in his next.

“Initially, reports suggested that Ranbir will share screen space with Shah Rukh (Khan). Amidst various stories, it was also reported that (cousins) Ranbir and Kareena will work together, followed by another speculation that said Shah Rukh will not be in the project. Karan is only amused by such reports,” says a friend of the director. Karan himself says, “Yes, I know there has been a lot of conjecture.” But he isn’t willing to reveal any more. Guess we’ll have to wait and watch.