Filmmaker Karan Johar recently talked about the issues that persist in Bollywood and the business model that is destroying the industry. In an appearance on a roundtable interaction organised by Galatta Plus, Karan made some interesting revelations about how he calculates a film’s chances of success.
KJo talked about how pandemic has affected the industry and the consequences it is facing post the pandemic. He said, ‘What’s happening in Hindi, the major belts — and I’m going to get slightly technical so that everybody understands — Mumbai and Delhi, which account for 60% to 70% of the number that comes in, they haven’t been behaving as consistently as they were pre-pandemic. So, what has been working is only the spectacle films, even if they’re dubbed films.’
He further mentioned how the business model works in this industry and how the biggest box-office collection in Bollywood are dubbed films.
‘The market has been behaving very erratically… Always know, if the heartland and Gujarat step on board, there’s nothing stopping you. The moment those two territories are distant from your film, you can never do a very large number. So, Gujarat, and CPCI Rajasthan have to step on board, and that’s just how the business model works,’ he added.
Karan Johar also revealed that Bollywood became a trend-chaser and he was part of it as well.
‘After Hum Aapke Hain Koun, everyone, including myself, decided to jump on the bandwagon of love, and Shah Rukh Khan was created. We let go of all our roots from the 70s, and in 2001 when Lagaan was nominated for an Academy Award, we were like, ‘Oh, now we’ll do these kind of films’ right up till the 2010s. My Name is Khan is still a root of Lagaan, in my head, which released alongside Dabangg, which again (changed trends) and people were like, ‘Now let’s start making commercial films again’. That’s the problem, we actually lack the spine and lack the conviction…,’ he said.
He further praised the iconic duo Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar for giving trendsetter films to the industry and said ‘We, who should be very grateful to Salim saab and Javed saab, we let go of that cinema and went to Switzerland.’
In 2022, only a few Bollywood films have fared well at the box office and many big-ticket films failed to impress the audience.
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