Karan Johar has managed to sell Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna (KANK) to Germany, France and Poland. Other 'non-traditional' international centres are also hugely receptive to the eagerly-awaited film.

"The thing about KANK is it follows my K3G. And that's hugely popular as La Famille Indien in France. Selling KANK is easier for me. Half the Bollywood industry was in Cannes. It was fun running into Ash, Rakeysh Mehra, Suneel Darshan, Vishal Bhardwaj and others. It didn't feel like I was away from home," says Karan.

Karan cannot get over the prevalence of Bollywood star power in that part of the world. "The support that Shah Rukh Khan has in Europe is amazing. We discovered first-hand in Cannes how much Shah Rukh matters to the market out there.

We had a blast over there. Preity and I saw talked-about movies like Da Vinci Code. Now I'm in London. I've got a series of meeting lined up before I return home."

Karan returns in time for his birthday on May 25. "I want to spend it with my mother. But no party because all my friends are out of the country. Shah Rukh is in Malaysia shooting."

And what was that embarrassing report about Karan and Preity being denied permission to enter a hotel in Cannes through the main door?

"It was so stupid it doesn't even warrant a response. We were just asked to go through another door, which we did. A Star News correspondent saw us and reported that we were denied entry. I guess such 'news' makes sense to some people. I'd rather focus on the release of my film."

Karan's nervousness about KANK shows. " I feel KANK has already been released. That's how involved I am with the film. The trailer will be shown along with Fanaa this week."

What about the book on KANK that was released in Cannes? "It was more like an elaborate catalogue, mainly pictorial."