Karan Johar slams Bollywood PR overdrive, says work should speak itself
Filmmaker Karan Johar has slammed Bollywood's growing dependence on paid publicity and performative film promotion. He said the trend makes it harder to know whether audience approval is genuine or purchased.
Filmmaker Karan Johar has criticised the film industry’s growing dependence on public relations. He expressed that Bollywood would be better off if artists let their work speak for itself.
In a recent conversation with The Week, Johar said the current culture of paid publicity has gone into overdrive. This has made it harder to judge what is connecting with audiences genuinely.
Industry’s growing dependence on PR
The director-producer was responding to an audience question about the kind of publicity tactics actors are now using to promote their films. The question referred to Janhvi Kapoor wearing a shirt named Sundari for her film Param Sundari with Siddharth Malhotra, and Shanaya Kapoor doing crocodile gimmicks for Tu Ya Main.
The audience member then asked whether such PR tactics, similar to those seen in Hollywood, were likely to become more common in Bollywood.
Johar said the industry should stop relying so heavily on PR. He said achievements should speak for itself, adding that much of the publicity now is paid for. "If you want to say 'You are looking gorgeous', you just have to pay. If you want to say that you are the best actor on planet Earth, you have to pay," he continued.
Difficulty in judging audience response
He also spoke about what he described as “method marketing”, but said that the issue was secondary to the larger problem. According to Johar, the real concern is that people are marketing themselves too aggressively instead of focusing on their craft. He made it clear that he was not referring only to the names mentioned in the question, but to the industry as a whole.
The filmmaker added that publicity and marketing are important professional categories, but they need to be handled in the right way.
Johar went on to say that the fact that “everything is available at a price” was deeply upsetting because "you really can't gauge what's connecting and what's not. Are people liking it or are paid to like it? I don't know, I can't tell half the time. It's confusing me because even I am sometimes paying for it."
Koffee with Karan to make a comeback
On Koffee with Karan, Johar kept his update brief. Asked about the show’s return, he said, ‘This year, Diwali, Season 9.’
With that, he confirmed the return of a programme that has remained one of Hindi cinema’s most discussed talk shows because of its candid conversations and the debates that often follow.
The eighth season premiered in October 2023 and concluded in January 2024.
It featured notable guests such as Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, Sara Ali Khan and Ananya Panday, and Kareena Kapoor Khan with Alia Bhatt. Other participants included Varun Dhawan with Sidharth Malhotra, Kajol with Rani Mukerji, Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani, Aditya Roy Kapur alongside Arjun Kapoor, Ajay Devgn with Rohit Shetty, and Sharmila Tagore with Saif Ali Khan.
The season also welcomed veteran actors Zeenat Aman and Neetu Kapoor. The finale showcased digital creators Tanmay Bhat, Danish Sait, Kusha Kapila, and Sumukhi Suresh.
Other projects in the pipeline.
Johar also confirmed that his 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna will be adapted into a long-form series.
Filmmaker Karan Johar has criticised the film industry’s growing dependence on public relations. He expressed that Bollywood would be better off if artists let their work speak for itself.
In a recent conversation with The Week, Johar said the current culture of paid publicity has gone into overdrive. This has made it harder to judge what is connecting with audiences genuinely.
Industry’s growing dependence on PR
The director-producer was responding to an audience question about the kind of publicity tactics actors are now using to promote their films. The question referred to Janhvi Kapoor wearing a shirt named Sundari for her film Param Sundari with Siddharth Malhotra, and Shanaya Kapoor doing crocodile gimmicks for Tu Ya Main.
The audience member then asked whether such PR tactics, similar to those seen in Hollywood, were likely to become more common in Bollywood.
Johar said the industry should stop relying so heavily on PR. He said achievements should speak for itself, adding that much of the publicity now is paid for. "If you want to say 'You are looking gorgeous', you just have to pay. If you want to say that you are the best actor on planet Earth, you have to pay," he continued.
Difficulty in judging audience response
He also spoke about what he described as “method marketing”, but said that the issue was secondary to the larger problem. According to Johar, the real concern is that people are marketing themselves too aggressively instead of focusing on their craft. He made it clear that he was not referring only to the names mentioned in the question, but to the industry as a whole.
The filmmaker added that publicity and marketing are important professional categories, but they need to be handled in the right way.
Johar went on to say that the fact that “everything is available at a price” was deeply upsetting because "you really can't gauge what's connecting and what's not. Are people liking it or are paid to like it? I don't know, I can't tell half the time. It's confusing me because even I am sometimes paying for it."
Koffee with Karan to make a comeback
On Koffee with Karan, Johar kept his update brief. Asked about the show’s return, he said, ‘This year, Diwali, Season 9.’
With that, he confirmed the return of a programme that has remained one of Hindi cinema’s most discussed talk shows because of its candid conversations and the debates that often follow.
The eighth season premiered in October 2023 and concluded in January 2024.
It featured notable guests such as Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol, Sara Ali Khan and Ananya Panday, and Kareena Kapoor Khan with Alia Bhatt. Other participants included Varun Dhawan with Sidharth Malhotra, Kajol with Rani Mukerji, Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani, Aditya Roy Kapur alongside Arjun Kapoor, Ajay Devgn with Rohit Shetty, and Sharmila Tagore with Saif Ali Khan.
The season also welcomed veteran actors Zeenat Aman and Neetu Kapoor. The finale showcased digital creators Tanmay Bhat, Danish Sait, Kusha Kapila, and Sumukhi Suresh.
Other projects in the pipeline.
Johar also confirmed that his 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna will be adapted into a long-form series.
