Karan Johar, an Indian filmmaker, is currently enjoying the success of his most recent film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. The well-known director returned from a seven-year absence with the Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt film, while Johar struggles with his duties as the president of Dharma Productions and hosts his controversial chat show, Koffee With Karan.
Speaking on how the entertainment industry has changed since his 25th anniversary feature début, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he emphasized the effects of the digital revolution. “The magic of [print] is so different than what digital film can give you, but you grow to accept it,” he said, calling it “heartbreaking.”
“I feel like there’s a tremendous loss of innocence more than anything else,” he said. “A lot of what I did in my first picture came from that innocence. You now believe that social media and the critics are monitoring you more, and you are rationalizing your beliefs. That is a drawback to the movie industry’s expansion.
Johar considered the attention that nepotism has received lately, since he is fully aware of the conversation surrounding it in the film industry. He said, “On this one, we were leading.” He defended his decision to cast Alia Bhatt in Student of the Year by saying, “When I first saw Alia’s audition, there was an instinct I had.” She is very much my firstborn because of the strong parental emotion. It didn’t matter who her father was when she entered the room—she just leaped out. It’s regrettable and untrue that nepotism has been blamed for it many years later.
Even with his success in India, Johar hasn’t given Hollywood any thought. He remembered the period following My Name Is Khan’s breakthrough, when he made several trips to Los Angeles for meetings. “My country and my cinema are in my heart, but it took a few trips to Los Angeles to realize that it’s all wonderful and you have a lot of meetings,” he remarked. “I want to stay in that. I want to use the language that raised me when I produce films.
“Holding this award today is an achievement,” Johar said after accepting the Variety Vanguard Award. To [win], I don’t have to make an English movie. It would be amazing to walk the Academy Awards red carpet, but I would like for it to be with a Hindi-language film.”
He acknowledged that he has only one dream, despite not having any Hollywood ambitions: getting to meet Meryl Streep. That’s the only thing I have on my want list. I could pass away and enter paradise if I could spend only one hour with her. “Her ability to be relevant in any decade is so admirable,” he went on. She seems to be one of the artists who understands it more than others when it comes to relevance—the fact that you have to change with the times.
Johar remarked, “The most common misconception foreign audiences have about Indian cinema is that ‘we are all about song and dance.'” In reflection on Indian cinema. That false belief has caused us to fall far behind. He highlighted the variety of storytelling seen in Indian cinema and conveyed his appreciation for streaming platforms that are enabling a worldwide audience to enjoy these tales.
He emphasized that the depth and diversity of Indian narratives merit worldwide attention, saying that “the world needs to wake up to Indian stories and storytelling
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