While struggling to hold back his tears, the star said, “Every day I wake up and a little part of me feels that vacuum.”
While sharing about his struggles with mental health issues, he got candid about the emotional support he received from actress Deepika Padukone and actor Varun Dhawan.Recalling an incident from 2017, when he was returning from Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday party in Alibaug, accompanied by Deepika and Farhan Akhtar, he said that the actress broke down in tears. “I remember holding her hand right through. She just cried, I looked and thought ‘I don’t even know how this feels’… till it happened to me,” he said.
Karan also opened up about hitting a low phase when while attending the NMACC event. There, he said, Varun Dhawan came to his aid. “I remember Varun (Dhawan) was staring at me. I was sweating, I didn’t even realize it. He came to me, held my hand and asked ‘Are you okay?’ And my hands were shaking,” Johar said. He recalled the actor taking him to a private room, where he conducted calming breathing exercises as Karan thought he was experiencing a heart attack.
Johar added that he left the event in just half and hour and zoomed home where he “got out of my long and elaborate jacket, and I left in half an hour. I just went to my bed, and I wept. I just cried and I didn’t know why I was crying.”
The filmmaker subsequently sought professional help and was prescribed medication, noting that he has since improved.
Deepika, who has been championing the cause for mental health, lauded KJo and expressed her admiration for his bravery in discussing his struggles. On the episode, Deepika also opened up about her struggles and how her husband Ranveer Singh stood by her side and offered her support.
Taking to Twitter, fans who tuned in to watch the Season 8 premiere, seemed shocked about the show becoming ‘relatable’. One user wrote, “Guys this koffee with karan episode is getting too real like karan johar having a breakdown about being alone and having no one to love and now the whole mental health anxiety depression talk like this was supposed to be fun guys i don’t want to sit n relate n cry.”
Another said, “Never thought I would cry with and for karan johar but hey loneliness and anxiety and depression is real and I understand the pain or lack of it just the same.”
