Filmmaker Karan Johar talked about how people talk about movies online, saying that sometimes these opinions are not fair. He explained that a lot of negative comments about a movie are made by fans who don’t like each other or by people who just want attention by saying something shocking. He even said that, as a producer, he’s paid people to say good things about his movies to make them seem better.
Karan was speaking on a show called Galatta Plus, where he noticed that the people interviewed outside cinemas often say very exciting things to get attention. But he felt that these loud reactions might not represent what the real audience feels. He thought these loud reactions are more about getting famous online rather than giving honest opinions.
“If you notice, those people who do those vox pops outside cinemas, the ones who are walking up to talk are all wanting to say the most sensational things. The real audience has slipped out and gone away. But some people are giving loud reactions because they want to go viral. Now, to go viral, they’re f*g us,” he said.
He also shared that sometimes, the team promoting the movie sends their own people to talk positively about it. This means they try to make their film seem better by asking people to say nice things about it. Karan explained that as a producer, when people praise his film, it helps even though he might criticize negative comments. He said that every movie is different. Some do well on their own, so he doesn’t need to say much. But for movies that are just okay, they try to make them seem better than they are.
“But sometimes, we also as PR send our own people to praise the film, that also happens”, Karan explained, “See, sometimes you’re also struggling to make a mark. As a producer, you will make every last-ditch attempt to make your film be heard. So, while I may critique criticism, I’m also riding on their backs when they praise a film… I change with every film. Some films work on their own, so I can take the high ground and stay quiet. Some films are average, so we need to give the impression that they’re doing better than they actually are.”
He mentioned that when a movie is doing really well, he can relax and doesn’t need more attention. But for movies in the middle that aren’t doing great or super amazing, they have to work hard to get people interested in them. Karan shared that it’s quite an interesting thing to do. In 2023, he had a big success with his movie “Rocky And Rani Kii Prem Kahaani,” making over Rs 350 crore worldwide.