Filmmaker Karan Johar has never shied away from tough industry conversations, and in a recent interview, he addressed what he sees as Bollywood’s biggest creative gap, the inability to mount large-scale mass action films. Speaking on The Streaming Show podcast with Suchin Mehrotra, Karan admitted bluntly, “It is a director crisis. You can’t think of more than a name or two. There isn’t anyone, because that entire generation spent their time watching a different kind of Hindi cinema.” He explained that filmmakers who grew up on romance and globalised storytelling struggle when it comes to creating “front-footed testosterone cinema.” According to him, “They emulate it and fall flat on their face.”
Learning from the South
Karan pointed to the roaring success of Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada directors who have mastered the event-film format. From SS Rajamouli’s epic sagas to Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s high-voltage storytelling and Prasanth Neel’s action spectacles, filmmakers from the south have redefined mass cinema in India. Karan has often been vocal about his admiration for their craft, admitting that Hindi filmmakers find themselves in a position where they are constantly calling to appreciate southern films, rather than the other way around.
A call to go back to roots
Despite this criticism, Karan sees hope in Hindi cinema’s own unique strengths. Referring to ‘Saiyaara’ as an example, he said, “Probably, we don’t have the directors to mount those kinds of films. So, if we can’t, then thank God for Saiyaara. This, we can do.” He recalled filmmaker Mohit Suri sharing how southern directors called him to praise his work, a rare reversal of roles.Meanwhile, the recent action flick in Bollywood was the Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR starrer ‘War 2’ which is receiving mixed reviews.Karan Johar calls out Bollywood’s ‘Director Crisis’ in mass action films; says Hindi filmmakers ‘Emulate south and fall flat’Filmmaker Karan Johar has never shied away from tough industry conversations, and in a recent interview, he addressed what he sees as Bollywood’s biggest creative gap—the inability to mount large-scale mass action films. Speaking on The Streaming Show podcast with Suchin Mehrotra, Karan admitted bluntly, “It is a director crisis. You can’t think of more than a name or two. There isn’t anyone, because that entire generation spent their time watching a different kind of Hindi cinema.” He explained that filmmakers who grew up on romance and globalised storytelling struggle when it comes to creating “front-footed testosterone cinema.” According to him, “They emulate it and fall flat on their face.”
Learning from the South
Karan pointed to the roaring success of Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada directors who have mastered the event-film format. From SS Rajamouli’s epic sagas to Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s high-voltage storytelling and Prasanth Neel’s action spectacles, filmmakers from the south have redefined mass cinema in India. Karan has often been vocal about his admiration for their craft, admitting that Hindi filmmakers find themselves in a position where they are constantly calling to appreciate southern films, rather than the other way around.
A call to go back to roots
Despite this criticism, Karan sees hope in Hindi cinema’s own unique strengths. Referring to ‘Saiyaara’ as an example, he said, “Probably, we don’t have the directors to mount those kinds of films. So, if we can’t, then thank God for Saiyaara. This, we can do.” He recalled filmmaker Mohit Suri sharing how southern directors called him to praise his work, a rare reversal of roles.Meanwhile, the recent action flick in Bollywood was the Hrithik Roshan and Jr. NTR starrer ‘War 2’ which is receiving mixed reviews.
