Top News

Mumbai: Bollywood’s favourite Karan Johar did not just make his Met Gala debut in 2026, he walked in with a whole cinema mood board on his back.

For his big fashion moment, Karan wore a custom Manish Malhotra look titled “Framed in Eternity,” inspired by the works of legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma. The outfit was not a simple red-carpet experiment either. It came with a power-shouldered vintage jacket and a dramatic hand-painted cape, reportedly worked on by over 80 artisans across 85 days. Basically, Karan did not wear fashion, he wore a full Bollywood-meets-art-history thesis.

The cape drew from Ravi Varma’s iconic paintings including Lady with the Peach, Hamsa Damayanti, Kadambari, Arjuna and Subhadra and There Comes Papa. Karan also explained on Instagram that Ravi Varma felt right because his work “painted feelings,” something Karan has always tried to do through cinema.

But while the look gave drama, the real emotion came when Shah Rukh Khan’s name came up.

When asked about following SRK’s Met Gala appearance from last year, Karan immediately went into full emotional mode. He said Shah Rukh has been a huge part of his career and added, “he’s the reason I stand here today.”

And this was not some random red-carpet compliment. Karan and SRK’s history goes from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and My Name Is Khan. A small filmography reminder was enough to explain why Karan got emotional.

At a night built around fashion, Karan brought art, nostalgia and one very clear message: behind the Met Gala moment stood years of cinema, friendship and Shah Rukh Khan.