Karan Johar is known for his candour, and in a recent conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the filmmaker once again shared some hard-hitting insights – this time on the current state of storytelling in the Hindi film industry. From genre fatigue to the obsession with cinematic universes, Johar didn’t hold back in expressing his views on why originality should be celebrated, not sidelined.
Karan Johar slams ‘herd mentality’ as he talks about Pushpa, Chhaava, Stree 2 success; addresses spy universe craze and asks, “How will I stand out if I copy?” – EXCLUSIVE
“I think it’s everybody grappling to do what others are doing. I think herd mentality. So, we see Pushpa running and catering so strongly to the tier two and tier three audiences. Suddenly there’ll be 20 others wanting to do the same. You see Chhaava working, and everybody will want to make historical dramas! After Stree, everybody wants to make horror comedies. Those worked because they were individually strong, and there was no other option in that genre. And it was a unique thought that made those films work. We all have individual thoughts that are unique to ourselves,” Karan told Bollywood Hungama.
Known for producing a wide range of stories across genres, Johar emphasized that he is not chasing the trend of building a cinematic universe. For him, storytelling is the true universe. KJo shared, “When somebody asked me the other day, you have a universe, I said, as in, so he said, like, you know, like, like, my universe is a comedy genre universe. I said, my universe is cinema itself. My universe is stories. I’m not here to build universes. I’m here to tell stories”.
He went on to continue, “And if there is in that story a universe, then why not? More power (to them)! I love that there is a horror comedy universe that Maddock has so brilliantly created and cultivated. It’s fantastic. What Dinesh Vijan has done is outstanding. I have so much regard for Aditya Chopra – as I said, he’s my mentor. The Spy universe is fantastic, but if I start emulating them, how am I going to stand out?”
Johar concluded his passionate take with a powerful reminder that originality is key to lasting success. “So my way of doing it is like really telling individual stories. And in that journey, if there is a universe that comes along, then why not? But I think what we are combating, to go back to your question, is herd mentality, and also grappling with what others are doing and trying to achieve the same success, right? Success, success cannot be emulated. You know, it cannot. You can’t force a you cannot. You can’t, no, you can’t emulate success. You can create it with your own individuality, and that’s what we should yearn,” he concluded.
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