Karan Johar's acting debut in a 1989 children’s science fiction show goes viral

Karan Johar is one of the country's most successful filmmakers, having directed and produced a number of critically and commercially successful films. He did, however, start his career as an actor in the entertainment industry.

No, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) is not his first on-screen appearance. Karan first appeared in front of the camera as a teenager in the science fiction television series Indradhanush (1989), in which he played a key role.

The show portrayed a group of students who built a computer that is home to an alien prince from the Andromeda Galaxy. The Prince grants the kids a time machine when one of them is kidnapped, which leads to their otherworldly adventures. The show aired on the state-run Doordarshan spanning 13 episodes.

Karan played one of the kids along with actors Jitendra Rajpal, Ameesha Jhaveri, and Sagar Arya. Vishal Singh and Akshay Anand, both of whom went on to have great TV careers later, appeared in the show, as did veteran actors Girish Karnad and Vikram Gokhale. The show also featured filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker and actor Urmila Matondkar in supporting roles. Many people thought the show, which was shot at RK Studios in Chembur, was ahead of its time.

For the uninitiated, Karan threw a big birthday party for his fraternity pals on Wednesday night to commemorate his 50th birthday. Several celebrities attended the event, including Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Dharma Productions, Tiger Shroff, Gauri Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Saba Azad, Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, and Anushka Sharma.