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During the interview, Karan Johar also criticised industry insiders who, he claims, are disconnected from reality.
Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar.
Karan Johar recently opened up about his journey in Bollywood, admitting that he considered himself more fortunate than talented for much of his career. Speaking on Komal Nahta’s YouTube channel Game Changer, the filmmaker revealed that it was only after directing My Name Is Khan (2010) that he truly believed in his skills as a director.
“It was after My Name Is Khan I believed in me that I knew my job,” Johar said. He explained, “The film was beyond my talent and outside the scope. It was beyond my ability and style. I personally felt this was a film that Mani Ratnam should have directed. I took it up as a challenge. It was at this moment when I saw a couple of shots and scenes from the film and believed that I should continue my job as a director.”
Reflecting on his early years, Johar credited much of his success to the goodwill of his father, Yash Johar, and the support of Shah Rukh Khan and Aditya Chopra. “I strongly believed that I was lucky. I never believed that I deserved it, but one day on the sets of My Name Is Khan, I thought, ‘Maybe I know my job.’ I have always believed that I have been more fortunate than talented,” he added.
During the interview, Johar also criticised industry insiders who, he claims, are disconnected from reality. “I am a realist and I am not deluded. Delusion is a disease for which there is no vaccination. If only I had that vaccine, I would have given it to several people in this industry. They are all living in delusion,” he remarked.
Discussing his own perspective, he stated, “I am very much aware of my films and know reasons behind why some of them worked and some didn’t. I am 80% realistic. Sometimes I don’t understand these people. I don’t understand whether they are lying to themselves or they believe that they made a great film. In reality, it is not. We need to understand if a film didn’t work or it’s bad. They say people didn’t understand it.”
