'Kabhi Alvida...' has German, French buyers: Karan Johar

Mumbai, May 25 (IANS) Filmmaker Karan Johar has managed to sell "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" (KANK) to distributors from Germany, France and Poland at the 59th Cannes Film Festival.

Other 'non-traditional' international centres are also receptive to the eagerly awaited film.

"The thing about KANK is it follows my K3G ('Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'). And that's hugely popular as 'La Famille Indien' in France. Selling KANK is easier for me," Johar told IANS.

"Half the Bollywood industry was in Cannes. It was fun running into Ash (Aishwarya Rai), Rakeysh (Omprakash) Mehra, Suneel Darshan, Vishal Bhardwaj and others. It didn't feel like I was away from home."

Johar cannot get over the prevalence of Bollywood star power in that part of the world.

"The support that Shah Rukh Khan has in Europe is amazing. We discovered first-hand in Cannes how much Shah Rukh matters to the market out there.

"We had a blast over there. Preity (Zinta) and I saw talked about movies like 'The Da Vinci Code'. After that I was in London. I had a series of meetings lined up before I returned home."

Johar returns in time for his birthday Thursday.

"I want to spend it with my mother but no party because all my friends are out of the country. Shah Rukh is in Malaysia shooting."

And what was that embarrassing report about Johar and Preity being denied permission to enter a hotel in Cannes through the main door?

"It was so stupid it doesn't even warrant a response. We were just asked to go through another door, which we did. A STAR News correspondent saw us and reported that we were denied entry. I guess such 'news' makes sense to some people. I'd rather focus on the release of my film."

Johar's nervousness about KANK shows.

"I feel KANK has already been released. That's how involved I am with the film. The trailer will be shown along with 'Fanaa' this week."

What about the book on KANK that was released in Cannes? "It was more like an elaborate catalogue, mainly pictorial."

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Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna