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Karan Johar acknowledged that, while he did benefit from his father’s reputation, he also took considerable risks one being the chance of making his first film.
Karan Johar opens up about the ‘nepotism’ tag.
Karan Johar, the multifaceted filmmaker and talk show host, has always been at the centre of conversation in Bollywood. His career, marked by both monumental success and controversies, has often sparked debates, particularly about the tag of being a “nepotism brand ambassador” which was largely popularised after actress Kangana Ranaut called him the “flagbearer of nepotism” and “movie mafia” in her appearance on his chat show, Koffee With Karan.
In a conversation with Raj Shamani, Johar reflected on how this tag began to be associated with him. When asked about when he became the face of nepotism, he shared, “I don’t know. Like, when did this happen? I have always been an insider. Because my father was a part of the film industry.” He explained that his father, the legendary filmmaker Yash Johar, played a crucial role in his entry into the industry, but added that the idea of being an insider was a natural outcome of his legacy, not an unfair advantage.
Johar acknowledged that, while he did benefit from his father’s reputation, he also took considerable risks one being the chance of making his first film. “My father took a risk on his son who was making his first film. If I had made a flop film, we had to sell our house,” Johar said. The pressure was immense, but he pointed out that he still had to prove himself and faced the same challenges as anyone else in the industry.
Without mentioning Kangana, Karan further admitted, “After the start of Koffee With Karan, I got a strange reputation that I am a certain kind of person.” This, Johar explained, led to people forming opinions based on limited narratives.
When it comes to public perception, Johar shared that while some may see him as a warm-hearted person, others might view him differently. “When people get to know me closely, they realise the real person I am, the true human being that I really am,” he said, adding that some people may have a negative view, but he cannot go around explaining himself to everyone.
For Johar, karma is his guiding principle. “Karma is my biggest religion. I feel that I should never hurt anyone, come in the way of anyone. Here people say that I destroyed someone’s career. No, I didn’t do anything to anyone. I just did my job. This is people’s belief.”
“If I praise you, no one will see it. But if I badmouth someone, there will be a lot of comments on it,” Johar concluded.
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