New Delhi: Filmmaker Karan Johar, who has time and again been accused of being the flag bearer of nepotism and promoting star kids, said that he wouldn’t mind ditching the ‘star’ factor for his films.
“You don’t need stars to make great films,” Johar said in an interview with Bollywood trade analyst Komal Nahta for his YouTube channel, ‘Game Changers’.
The statement was part of Johar’s answer where he listed three things he is willing to compromise while making a film.
“Budget, you have to sometimes for sensible reasons. And, therefore scale, you have to dilute it for whatever reasons. Thirdly, on stars,” he said.
According to Johar, every year, every season has one blockbuster film that is not dependent on movie stars.
The filmmaker noted that because the film syntax is dependent on stardom, there are some projects for which you would need the stars.
“Lekin har film ki zaroorat nhi hai ki movie star ho (Not every film demands a movie star). You don’t need to depend on them,” he added.
In the interview, Johar also mentioned that among the young lot, everyone is doing well, be it Sara Ali Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Tripti Dimri, Kriti Sanon, and Kiara Advani.
But, he is very “bullish” about Laksh Lalwani, known as Lakshya.
Notably, Lakshya made his debut with the 2023 action flick Kill. It was bankrolled by Johar’s Dharma Productions.
The film, made on a budget of Rs 40 crore, did a worldwide business of Rs 47.24 crore.
‘Chance pe dance’
Johar’s Kill starring a newcomer grossed Rs 18.5 crore overseas.
But, this wasn’t the first time his film has minted money at overseas box office.
From his debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) to Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)—Johar is often credited for expanding the reach of Indian cinema to foreign land.
“Ise ‘chance pe dance’ kehte hai,” he said.
But for Johar, there is only one man behind making Bollywood films popular abroad—Shah Rukh Khan.
He stated that films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), then Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho, and Devdas (2002) are pillars of Indian cinema overseas.
“This is not just limited to the UK, USA, and Australia. Go to France, Germany, Italy or anywhere in the Middle East—for them Bollywood and films is Shah Rukh Khan,” Johar said.
“He is not a star. He is an emotion. When he comes on the big screen, the whole world celebrates him. All of us have leveraged him to be where we are today.”
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On SS Rajamouli
Johar also spilled the formula behind making any film a blockbuster—conviction in one’s work.
According to him, the director’s conviction could be the driving force for a film. And, he cited the example of SS Rajamouli, saying that his films lack logic but they thrive on his conviction.
“Conviction is very important. If you look at anything, especially if you analyse the journey of the best filmmakers, you’ll see that the biggest hits are built on conviction. Logic doesn’t matter in a film,” the filmmaker said. “Take any film by Rajamouli sir, for example. Where do you see logic? You only see conviction. And when conviction comes to the forefront, even the audience believes in it.”
Not just RRR (2022), Johar said that films like Animal (2023) and Gadar (2001) are also standing tall on the director’s conviction.
“If you can defeat a thousand people with a single hand pump, that’s conviction, right? Anil Sharma believes that Sunny Deol can do this. That is pure conviction,” he added.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)