CANNES: What has Dharma Productions boss Karan Johar been up to? According to sources in Cannes, he has been having meetings with several distributors and directors the world over. He came into the Palais des Festivals for a very short while yesterday. What's more actor Preity Zinta has been accompanying him to many a premieres and screenings.

What is really striking is the popularity that Karan Johar has in this part of the world. Sample this, a young girl came up to this scribe on the croisette outside the India pavilion in the International Village, asking where Karan Johar and Preity Zinta were? She said she had watched all his movies. "Mujhe bahoot acchi lagti hain dono," she said. She had been waiting outside the pavilion for three hours and she said would continue waiting until she met up with the duo.

This morning Johar made a lighting visit to the India pavilion in the International Village along with producer-director Sunil Darshan and UK-based TipTop Films Sunil Shah. He also spent some time talking with Ian Smith the maker of the film The City of Joy.