Karan Johar is trying to dissuade his twins Yash and Roohi from joining Bollywood, says he'd be ‘too old’ to protect them

Filmmaker Karan Johar says he is concerned about his children entering the tough film industry.

Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar has introduced several actors who went on to become stars and delivered numerous blockbusters and memorable films. However, the filmmaker recently revealed that he is concerned about his children entering the industry and is almost trying to dissuade them from joining the business.

Karan Johar says he doesn't want his kids to enter Bollywood

Karan Johar doesn't want his kids to join Bollywood.

While discussing the challenges of raising children in the film industry on season 9 of Koffee With Karan with Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, Karan said, "Well, look, as I said, it’s not an easy place. It’s tough. I am almost dissuading my children from the business. And everybody says, ‘Why are you doing that? Why are you doing that?’ I am like, look, I will be too old to protect them at that time."

Kareena then offered a different perspective on parents being protective of their children. “But I feel maybe the protection is also what is causing the issue. I think sometimes we just have to, like, probably just… you know, we’re all so protective towards our children, I feel sometimes our parents used to say just let us go and say, ‘Karni hai toh karo, you know, karo. You have to go and ‘ragdo (If you want to do it, then do it. You have to go and really push yourself).’" Karan agreed with her before the conversation moved on.

Karan is a father to twins, Yash and Roohi Johar. The filmmaker welcomed them through surrogacy in February 2017, becoming a single father at the age of 44. While his son is named after his late father, filmmaker Yash Johar, his daughter's name, Roohi, is an anagram of his mother's name, Hiroo. Now nine years old, Yash and Roohi often feature in Karan's social media posts. The filmmaker has frequently spoken about how fatherhood has changed his life and how raising his children is one of his greatest joys.

About Karan Johar's upcoming work

Karan is currently awaiting the release of Dharma's web series, Student of the Year: After Dark. His college romance franchise has been reimagined as a dark murder mystery. Shanaya Kapoor plays twins Aayesha and Aditi. After Aayesha is found dead, Aditi enters the cut-throat contest at St Teresa Heritage School to uncover her killer. Directed by Reema Maya and produced by Dharmatic Entertainment, the series also stars Divik Sharma and Manya Grover. It is scheduled to premiere on JioHotstar on November 13, 2026.