Since the pandemic, Bollywood has been on a rollercoaster, trying to reclaim its former glory. With Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan and Jawan giving the industry a much-needed jolt, it's clear that Bollywood isn't down for the count just yet. However, the road to recovery is far from smooth, as Karan Johar recently discussed in an insightful and candid chat with journalist Faye D’Souza on her YouTube channel.
"Firstly, the audiences’ tastes have become very definitive. They want a certain kind of cinema. And if you (as a maker) want to do a certain number, then your film has to perform at A, B, and C centres.
Multiplexes alone will not suffice,” Johar noted, outlining a problem as old as cinema itself but intensified in today's fragmented viewing landscape. In other words, it's no longer enough to make a movie that appeals solely to urban multiplex audiences. Filmmakers need to craft stories that resonate across India's diverse audience spectrum, from the bustling metros to the heartlands.
This shift in taste is like trying to hit a moving target while riding a unicycle – blindfolded. Johar also highlighted the financial tightrope Bollywood producers must walk. “Simultaneously, the cost of filmmaking has increased.
There has been inflation. There are about 10 viable actors in Hindi cinema, and they are all asking for the sun, moon, and earth. So, you pay them; then you pay for the film, and then the marketing expenditure comes.
And then your film doesn’t do the numbers. .
