Karan Johar recently said, “We need to redefine theatrical success.”
Given its hard patch since the beginning of the year, Bollywood would likely repeat, “Yeh dukh kaahe khatam nahi hota be” (why is this anguish not ending). Sacnilk reported that Fighter, this year’s top-grosser, grossed Rs 358 crore, whereas Jawan, the highest-grossing picture of 2023, grossed Rs 1,160 crore.
In response to this dire scenario, Karan Johar, one of India’s most renowned filmmakers, suggested a renovation and redefining of theater success.
“First, audiences have very clear tastes. They want specific cinema. To do a given number, your picture must perform at A, B, and C centers. He claimed in a YouTube interview with journalist Faye D’Souza that multiplexes are insufficient.
Filmmaking has become more expensive. There’s inflation. Hindi film has 10 credible performers who want the sun, moon, and earth. You pay them, then the film, then marketing. You film fails the numbers. Movie stars demanding Rs 35 crore are opening at Rs 3.5 crore. Is that math working? How do you handle everything? You must keep developing movies and content to feed your company. There’s a lot of drama, and our cinema’s syntax isn’t settled, he said.
Each decade has had a specific Hindi cinema syntax. We’re thinking, ‘If Jawan and Pathaan worked, should we do only action?’ Then everyone runs that way. A romance would work then. I feel like we’re racing around like chickens. Herd mentality has shattered conviction. We haven’t realized that certain audiences desire rooted Indian movies and unadulterated joy without critics’ pressure, he said.
“They don’t want alienating film either. Talking about urban syntax and alienating Tier 2 cities and smaller town plexes isn’t big business. Karan said urban film is possible, but at a cost.
Karan’s latest film Kill is in theaters.
