Karan Johar: With MNIK I have got out of my safety zone

There is just one month to go for the release of MY NAME IS KHAN and if initial promos followed by the music are any indication, it is obvious that Karan Johar has adopted a different route for himself with the film. Touching upon a topical affair is always a tricky situation and for someone like Karan who is known to be filling his frames with colours, the film is clearly taking him out of his comfort zone.

"More than just the visual presentation on screen, what was of pertinent importance was the fact that MY NAME IS KHAN required a lot of external research", explains Karan who worked along with writer Shibani Bathija on the film, "All this while it was about my own world and sphere with which I was comfortable with but here I was looking at certain perceptions which are a global phenomenon."

Talking about the trigger point that led to conceptualizing of MY NAME IS KHAN, Karan states, "It was basically a film that was needed to be addressed. I had certain feelings and wanted them to be translated for screen. Moreover, this idea also required me to get out of my safety zone."

While Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol play the principal protagonists in MY NAME IS KHAN, the film also boasts of an array of supporting actors like Soniya Jehan, Jimmy Shergill, Zarina Wahab, Parvin Dabbas, Arif Zakaria, Navneet Nishan, Sheetal Menon, Arjun Mathur and child artist Tanay Chheda. A co-production of Karan Johar and Gauri Khan, MY NAME IS KHAN is being marketed and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and releases all over on 12th February 2010.