Karan Johar just can't do without her. In New York, shooting for his new film, a stressed-out, anxious Karan laughs at the very mention of Jaya aunty. "She's a darling... almost a second mother," he says.

"And I know how upset she is with me, because she isn't part of my film's cast, while Amit uncle and Abhishek are. I can't help it; there was no role she could fit into. I know she had small roles in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Na Ho, but they were characters substantiated by Jaya aunty's presence. This time, I just couldn't find a place for her."

When told about Karan's regret, Jaya laughs. "I've been grumbling about not being part of Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna. I feel left out; Karan is like Abhishek to my husband and me. I can't imagine not being part of anything he does."

While Amitabh Bachchan proceeds to New York to join Abhishek and Karan, Jaya leaves a day earlier to be part of the UN assembly; she'll be staying in the same hotel as Karan's unit. "I am sorry," apologises Karan. "It will never happen again. I don't think I'll ever make a film without Jaya aunty."

Incidentally, before Karan's father Yash Johar passed away, he had asked Bachchan to take his place in Karan's life. "We're one family," Karan says about the Johars and Bachchans.