Just recently, another Johar protege Ayan Mukerji directed the sleeper hit Wake Up Sid for Dharma Productions, Johar's company.

Speaking to rediff.com in New York at 2.30 am from his home in Mumbai, Johar touches many topics from giving breaks to directors to Shah Rukh Khan shooting another film in America after My Name Is Khan.

But he also wants to talk about the Kurbaan poster controversy, and how Shiv Sena volunteers protested against Kareena Kapoor's bare back image.

"In a creative democracy, you cannot make challenging films for the global market place and our own audiences if our hands are tied at every step," he says with a sigh.

"In a democracy, people have the right to question everything, but how are we exercising that right matters a lot. If people are disturbed over something in a poster or in anything else in our film, we will engage them in discussion but arbitrary protests harm the film industry and film art."

Since his father Yash Johar launched Dharma Productions more than three decades ago and through the production of many hit films ranging from the Amitabh Bachchan-starring Dostana to the recent Wake Up Sid, Karan says his production company has followed a principle.

How did D'Silva get to direct the film which features Saif Ali Khan and Kareena?

"I have known Renzil for quite some time as a writer (Rang De Basanti)," Johar says. "I had an idea for a film and when I narrated it to him, he became very excited. In a nutshell, it is about two intriguing people, a protagonist and an antagonist. I knew right then that I could get him to do something more than expanding the idea."

"Kurbaan is Renzil's vision all the way," Johar adds. "He has created a unique world within the screenplay. Technically, it is a strong film and it is a stronger film as a narrative."

What draws him to a potential director?

"It has been the same with every director Dharma Productions has launched including Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Naa Ho), Tarun Mansukhani (Dostana) and Ayan Mukerji (Wake Up Sid)," Johar says.

"Surely, I feel insecure and a bit scared," he says with a chuckle. "I think it is natural and important to feel that way. I have always believed that insecurity is a big part of creativity."

He feels more insecure when a director is making a debut through his company. "I am less nervous when it is a film directed by me," he continues. "But I am more nervous for the new directors because they are taking the first big step."

With My Name Is Khan being slotted for an early 2010 release, the big question is how much of time Shah Rukh Khan will give for promoting the film in America, following the controversy over his detention at Newark airport by immigration authorities on August 14.