Karan Johar turns 40: His best and worst

Filmmaker Karan Johar turns 40 on May 25. He has sold dreams to a generation that grew up on his romantic comedies. Here are some of his great and not-so-great films.

The man who taught his legion of fans "pyar dosti hai (Love is friendship)" made his debut as a director with one of the most successful films of all time - Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The paring of Shah Rukh Khan with Kajol was such a hit that other directors wanted to cash in on their on-screen chemistry.

He brought back brought back the hit pair of Kajol and SRK in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham as a pair from two distinctly different economic classes. The film was a commercial success.

Karan's lasting friendship with Shah Rukh reflected in the choice of roles he offered to him in films such as 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'. It was the tragic story of two lovers separated by death. The maturity of the plot lay in the acceptance of it and moving on with life. Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan played central roles. Karan produced this film.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was a film Karan directed, produced and written and it was his first attempt at handling an adult subject more complicated than a college romance. He tried to bring out the complexities of extramarital affairs and their implications.

My Name Is Khan is a film Karan wrote, directed and produced. Shah Rukh and Kajol paired up after 9 years for this film. It was the most expensive film of 2010 and went on to become a major hit. SRK plays a man with Asperger's syndrome. It was a daunting challenge for him to get the body language right.

Karan produced the modern day remake of Amitabh Bachchan's Agneepath. The film opened well and received mainly positive reviews. Both Hrithik and Sanjay Dutt gave exemplary performances in the film. But more importantly it created a old fashioned villain out of Sanjay Dutt after many years with his terrifying looks in the film.

Karan produced Dostana starring John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. Not only did Priyanka earn the name 'Desi Girl' following this film, it became one of the very few films to openly tackle the issue of homosexuality rarely portrayed or talked about in Indian cinema. The performances of the stars were average.

Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, produced by Karan, is a fun story about two diametrically opposite people thrown together in an impossible situation. The maturity of the film lies in the ending where they are destined to part rather than play out the routine of happy ending.

I Hate Luv Storys turned out to be a hit despite predictable cliches and mostly negative reviews from critics. The film, produced under the Dharma Productions banner, followed a tried and tested formula.

Karan and Shah Rukh produced Kaal, an ecological supernatural story set in the mythical Orbit National Park. The film tried to address the issues of poaching but was let down by some consistently poor performances of its ensemble cast. It fared averagely at the Box Office.

Kurbaan, in the backdrop of global terrorism was a hackneyed story of Muslims settled in the US hatching a terror plot against the establishment. Karan produced the film starring Saif and Kareena.

Koochie Koochie Hota Hai is an animated love story between two dogs and a quirky take of Karan's first film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The voice-overs for the leads has been given by Shah Rukh, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Sanjay Dutt and Riteish Deshmukh. It is still in the cans.

Wake Up Sid was a wonderful coming of age film starring Ranbir Kapoor and produced by Karan. Sid goes through life shirking his responsibilities and looking out for a mother figure to take care of his basic needs. This was a mature take on growing up and responsibilities and one of Ranbir's best films.

We Are Family, produced by Karan, is the Indian remake of Stepmom. It received mostly negative reviews despite tackling the sensitive subject of a dying mother entrusting her children to the care of the "other woman".