Karan Johar recently addressed the growing trend of corporate bookings in Bollywood, where filmmakers buy bulk tickets to inflate box office numbers. He dismissed these “self-bookings” as industry self-defamation, asserting that audiences only care about a film’s quality, not artificial boosts. Johar also expressed his ethical concerns regarding actors’ excessive entourages.
Karan Johar recently commented on the growing trend of corporate bookings in Bollywood, where filmmakers buy bulk tickets for their own movies to boost box office numbers. The filmmaker laughed it off, saying people can do what they want, but ultimately, the audience doesn’t care about such gimmicks.
‘If you’re happy spending your own money, go ahead’
On Komal Nahata’s podcast, Karan said, “Everybody does what they have to. If I decide to give myself ₹1 crore, and then I celebrate, have a party at night that I have earned ₹1 crore. Am I a fool, or am I an intelligent man? I leave that for you to decide. That is the only answer I have on this. If you are doing this for yourself and you are happy, please do it. You are spending on yourself, so why should anyone judge you for spending your own money? You are happy and putting it out on social media.”
‘The industry is defaming itself’
Elaborating further, he added, “The industry is defaming itself. All these corporate booking numbers are peddled by the industry people. What does the audience care about, corporate or desperate? The audience only looks at whether the film is good or bad. I don’t know where this term has even come from. It is called self-booking. There are agencies now filling the seats if you pay them. That has also started. Sometimes it helps films in giving that kickstart energy. ”
Karan on actors’ entourages
In the same interview, the filmmaker also shared, “I have an ethical problem with entourages, not a financial one. We set a fixed budget for such needs. But if an actor wants anything beyond that, be it a personal trainer or specific dietary requirements, they should cover the cost themselves. I will pay for it only when it’s essential for the film, like in a sports drama requiring a certain physique.”
