MUMBAI: Guess who is Karan Johar’s favourite actor? The answer is not Shah Rukh Khan. It is Jaya Bachchan. Karan can’t do without her, but says he just couldn’t find a role for her in his latest Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna.

“She’s a darling... almost a second mother. And I know how upset she is with me... For no other reason except the fact that she is not part of my film’s cast when both Amit uncle (Amitabh Bachchan) and Abhishek are. I can’t help it. There was no role she could fit into.

“I know she had small roles in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho. But they were roles and characters substantiated by Jaya aunty’s presence. This time I just couldn’t find a place for her.”

When told about Karan’s regret, the fabulous Jaya Bachchan laughs: “I know. I have been grumbling about not being part of Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna. I feel left out. Karan is like Abhishek to my husband and me. I can’t imagine not being part of anything he does.”

“I am sorry,” Karan responds. “It will never happen again. I don’t think I will ever make a film without Jaya aunty.”

Incidentally, when Karan’s father Yash Johar died he had asked Bachchan to take his place. “We are one family,” Karan says about the Johars and Bachchans.