Filmmaker Karan Johar recently came forward to extend his support to fashion designer Maheka Mirpuri as she celebrated ten years of MCan – an initiative for cancer awareness – with the tenth edition of the MCan Charity Gala in Mumbai. They successfully raised over one crore in a span of two hours to help Tata Memorial Hospital in the city treat head and neck cancer.
Karan shared that the cause personally resonated with him as he lost his father, late producer Yash Johar, to cancer in 2004. He said, “To me, this endeavour has been even more massive and emotional. In my life, personally, I lost my father to cancer, and from then on, in my own way, I have tried to silently support the cause. There’s nothing greater than sharing space with the doctors of Tata Memorial who do such a wonderful job of saving lives. My gratitude to them.”
Lauding Maheka’s efforts, he continued, “But today, when I have seen what Maheka has been doing for the last decade, it moves my heart to know that MCan is not just a movement, it is a phenomenon. It was amazing to see the goodwill of Maheka and the goodness in the room where people were so giving.”
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Offering his closet for the cause, the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016) and Lust Stories (2018) director enthusiastically chipped in for the charitable cause. At the event, Mirpuri added that she would love to design clothes for him and have him auction the same.
Besides Mirpuri and Johar, actors Madhoo Shah, Rakshanda Khan, Poonam Dhillon, Bhagyashree, Sanjay Kapoor, Iqbal Singh Chahal, Kiran Joneja, Ramesh Sippy, Sagar Chordia, Gaurav Ghai, Harinder Singh, Tehseen Poonawalla, Ashok Wadhwa, Parvez Damania, Jaya Raheja, Suchitra Krishnamurti, and Karan Gupta were also seen in attendance.
On a related note, Karan’s father was battling cancer during the shoot of Kal Ho Na Ho, which proved to be his last production venture. Speaking about his death, the 50-year-old had told Hindustan Times, “I lost my father in 2004 and I’m still struggling with the loss. When my father, Yash Johar, was dying, he kept telling us he didn’t want to leave us and go. My mother and I cried a lot. We still do. I walk into her room and even today, I find her talking to his photograph. I have conversations with him, in my head, on a daily basis. He gives me strength and completes me in every way. I lost my father but gained a god for life.”
