Karan Johar's respect for Sanjay Leela Bhansali has extended to his upcoming production I Hate Luv Storys.

One of the main characters of the film is a director, and the buzz in the industry is that he has been modelled on the Saawariya director.

Imran Khan plays his assistant and Sonam Kapoor a production designer. Their interactions with the director, played by Samir Soni, have been based on how Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam interacted with Sanjay during the making of Black, when they were his assistants, and Saawariya, where they were the main leads.