When Karan Met Prabal

Even those who don’t know them personally know that filmmaker KARAN JOHAR and new york-based designer PRABAL GURUNG are the likeliest of friends. You just have to eavesdrop on one playful conversation—like we did— to discover how much common ground they share (read bollywood, memorable nightclub entries, and a rapid-fire round). Plus, vogue gets another crossover success story, PRIYANKA CHOPRA, to play muse

Karan Johar: I’ll tell you how I met the master himself. Koel Purie told me, “You must meet my friend Prabal Gurung. He’s a designer in New York and he’s doing really well.” By that time Prabal had already made his mark dressing Michelle Obama. So we made a plan for a quick coffee. Little did I realise I was going to meet this completely Bollywood-obsessed soul who was better informed about Bollywood music, song and dance than even I was—and I come from the business, as a result of nepotism!

Prabal Gurung: So coffee turned into a drink, and then many glasses of red wine. And then the singing. We ended up at Waverly Inn for dinner.

KJ: My friend Kaajal Anand wanted to go to the nightclub Boom Boom Room, but there were 12 of us, on a Friday night, so it seemed an impossible task. As soon as the gentleman at the door saw Prabal, though, we glided in like complete A-listers. More than his Bollywood knowledge, more than his love for Hindi cinema, the fact that he got me into a hip night spot on Friday night made me think, “I want to know this guy better.” (Laughs) Call me frivolous, call me opportunistic, call me superficial!

PG: (Laughs) And that is the only reason I left India and Nepal and came here—just so that I could get into a club. And get Karan into a club… All this designing is a facade.

KJ: And then I found out about his journey. See, my journey is pretty simple. My father made movies and then, of course, destiny and talent played a part. But Prabal comes from a family that had nothing to do with fashion. What really moved me was that a boy raised in Nepal moves to Delhi to work with Manish Arora, gets on a flight to New York and is today one of the most touted names in the world of fashion. It’s the stuff biopics are made of.