Karan Johar reacts to accusations of destroying careers

Filmmaker Karan Johar is one of the most popular and influential men of the film industry. He is the owner of Dharma Productions which has made films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho, My Name Is Khan, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani. Recently, the filmmaker spoke about people blaming him for destroying careers and only launching industry members while totally ignoring his contribution to the industry.

Karan on career-destroyer tag

In a conversation with Raj Shamani, Karan Johar addressed the “career destroyer” tag. He said, “People say iske iska career destroy kiya. Maine kisi ka kuch nahi kiya. Maine bas aapna kaam kiya (People say that I have destroyed careers of many. I have not done anything like that. I just did my job). This is a belief. Negativity travels, positivity doesn’t. Fashion sa hogaya hai burai karne ka (It has become a trend to badmouth people). Love me, hate me, but don`t be indifferent to me. You talk so much about it, and that means I matter”.

Have launched almost 50 actors: Karan Johar

In the interview, Karan also said that people today praise Adarsh Gourav for his talent but never mention that his first film was My Name Is Khan directed by him. “I have worked with all actors. I can share details of actors and other talent who did their first film with us, who were complete outsiders. They started their career with us. I encouraged them to pursue their passion, and they are flourishing today. I never get credit for this”.

“Why aren’t people talking about Lakshya Lalwani or Raghav Juyal, who are saying Kill turned around things for them? Why aren`t you crediting me for that? If I launch one actor who will be an outsider, no one will talk about that. But they will be covering and mention the so-called ‘nepo kids’. I have a whole list.. I have launched 25 directors and almost 50 actors… But why should I give the list to someone? If I have launched 20 outsider directors, they’re meant to be the captains of the ship, then why are you only focusing on the stars. An actor isn’t the sole component behind the success of a film. If I say that a film has worked only because of the star, then I am diminishing the work of the 100 people who’ve worked on the film,” he added.

This article first appeared on Mid Day