Karan Johar, known for shaping some of Bollywood’s most iconic romantic dramas, recently offered a deep-dive into how the emotional syntax of Hindi cinema has evolved. In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani director candidly reflected on the legacy of films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), and his own Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G).
Karan Johar reflects on Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham era, DDLJ influence and evolving audience tastes; says, “Can I make a 3-Hour 32-minute film today? probably not” – EXCLUSIVE
Speaking about the golden era of 90s cinema, Johar noted the energy that marked those years. “There was that kind of energy we had in the 90s. I was also actually deriving that beautiful energy from Hum Aapke Hain Koun and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” he shared. He credited Hum Aapke Hain Koun for pioneering large-scale feel-good family dramas that seamlessly fused love, tradition, and music, and how that paved the way for DDLJ’s worldwide appeal. “A lesser-known analysis of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge is that up to that point, love stories were rebellious, like it was always like, rebel against system parents and up standing against something, together and fighting or running away. But, Dilwale took a very interesting approach, where Raj says… I will not allow us to run away. It was a very simple one line that Aditya Chopra magically created,” he said.
Johar also recalled his formative years under Chopra’s mentorship, calling DDLJ his “film school.” He referenced how his own film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was born out of that era’s storytelling ethos. However, the director acknowledged that times have drastically changed. “Every decade has evolved. Today, we are in a totally different phase of Indian cinema… I’ve done it in my way with Rocky Rani, but it talks about issues relevant to today,” he explained.
Citing Rocky Rani as a feminist film with modern sensibilities, Johar stressed the importance of reading the room as a filmmaker. “It’s a very strong feminist film. And from that lens, and being a feminist myself, I wanted to tell that story. As I said, like every period, every decade, has a new diktat that, whether you read the room or not, you have to know and make films as per that”.
When asked about the possibility of revisiting the grandness of K3G, he posed a rhetorical question. “Can I make a 3 hour, 32 minute film and get away with it today?” “People have asked me why can’t you make another K3G and I’m like, I don’t know. Firstly, I don’t know if a family film will connect. Of course, it has connected in the recent past, like we’ve seen, even in streaming, you’ve seen succession and how well it’s done. I think a battle in a boardroom would make an interesting drama. But would that be commercially relevant to the scale K3G was?”
Calling the early 2000s a “non-social media, non-AI era,” Johar reflected on whether the conviction and emotions that defined K3G could resonate with today’s attention-span-limited audience. “It had a different beating heart with an audience in today times where everyone’s scrolling reels. Where is Raichand mentioned? Where is Chandni Chowk? What the hell was going on? But it was all with so much conviction. It all got pulled off because we were also convinced. Is that old fashioned conviction the need of the hour? Probably, if we take just the beating heart of Kabhi Khushi and adapted it today, there may be a beautiful film. Let’s see!” he concluded.
More Pages: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Box Office Collection , Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Movie Review
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