Karan Johar: A Film Like KGF Is Celebrated But If Bollywood Made It We Would Be Lynched

From the past few months, social media is buzzing with the ongoing debate on how south film industry is doing a better job than Bollywood in minting money at the box office and wooing the audience with storytelling. In the last few months, many celebrities also shared their take on the ongoing debate. In his recent tete-a-tete with Film Companion, when Karan Johar was asked if he also believes that Bollywood is suffering because everyone is presenting themselves as brands with paid PR and outrageous salaries rather than presenting themselves as artists, he said that he partially agrees to it!

However, he also said that filmmakers from Bollywood lack 'conviction' which south filmmakers have, because they know what they want and they're not seeking acceptance or validation from others.

He said, "I think they're victims of everything we should be running away from like paid PR. I think we're also victims of herd mentality. I feel that filmmakers from the South know what they want and they're not seeking acceptance or validation from others. They have conviction that just isn't present in our cinema where everyone just hops on whatever trend is popular."

When asked how will that conviction come, Karan said that filmmakers have to think about it, otherwise everyone is screwed.

Karan also asserted that filmmakers need to empower writers and take their focus back to making the films they love rather than worrying about appealing to those audiences, who they know they cannot appeal to. Karan further said that as a director, one needs to know what his/her strength is and make films accordingly.

"Rather than being a buffet, one should focus on being a bonafide a la carte. We have to go back to good-old-fashioned conviction - that's all I tell both filmmakers and actors. When I meet someone like SS Rajamouli or Prashanth Neel, I can tell that they just know what they're doing. Part of the problem is also that we're not given any leeway. A film like KGF is celebrated but if Bollywood made it, we would be lynched," said the Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani director.