Karan Johar Reveals He Has Paid People To Say Positive Things About His “Average” Films
Karan Johar recently revealed that he has used creative methods to twist and change the perception around average films.
Ace filmmaker-producer Karan Johar, who delivered a hit in the form of his 2023 directorial venture ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ and returned with an all-new season of his popular chat show ‘Koffee With Karan’, dissected the online discourse that follows film releases, and said that many of these reactions are skewed. In a recent interview, Karan Johar also said that a lot of the negativity that he sees about a particular film is either generated by fan clubs, or people wanting to go viral after giving an attention-seeking statement.
During the Galatta Plus roundtable, Karan Johar also admitted to sometimes paying people off if it results in good word of mouth for his film. As soon as he made this revelation, Taapsee Pannu and Rani Mukerji burst out laughing.
Karan Johar said, “If you notice, those people who do those vox pops outside cinemas, the ones who are walking up to talk are all wanting to say the most sensational things. The real audience has slipped out and gone away. But some people are giving loud reactions because they want to go viral. Now, to go viral, they’re f*****g us.”
KJo continued, “But sometimes, we also as PR send our own people to praise the film, that also happens.”
Karan Johar further explained, “See, sometimes you’re also struggling to make a mark. As a producer, you will make every last-ditch attempt to make your film be heard. So, while I may critique criticism, I’m also riding on their backs when they praise a film… I change with every film. Some films work on their own, so I can take the high ground and stay quiet. Some films are average, so we need to give the impression that they’re doing better than they actually are.”
The filmmaker also said that when a film is doing well at the box office, he can sit back and turn down interviews because he doesn’t need any more publicity.
“It’s the middle order film that you have to fight for, that you have to create an aura and energy around… It’s a very interesting exercise,” he said.
For the unversed, Karan Johar tasted success in 2023, with ‘Rocky And Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ grossing over Rs 350 crore worldwide. The movie starred Alia Bhatt, Ranveer Singh, Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan.
The star cast of ‘RRKPK’ also included Tota Roy Chowdhury, Churni Ganguly, Kshiti Jog, Aamir Bashir, Anjali Anand, Namit Das, and Abhinav Sharma among others.
In the movie, Rocky (played by Ranveer Singh), a Punjabi West Delhi businessman, falls in love with Rani (Alia Bhatt), a progressive Bengali journalist.
