Karan Johar, one of the most influential filmmakers of Bollywood, has always been known for his sharp wit and honesty. From directing emotional blockbusters to mentoring young talent, he has shaped modern Hindi cinema in countless ways. Beyond his creative flair, he often speaks his mind about issues that most in the industry prefer to avoid and his recent comments on corporate booking prove just that.
In a candid conversation on a podcast, Karan Johar openly discussed the growing practice of producers buying tickets of their own films to inflate box office numbers. He compared it humorously, saying that if he gifted himself one crore rupees and then celebrated his own success, people could decide whether it made him wise or foolish. His point was clear, people can spend their money however they want, but doing so does not necessarily impress the audience or change a film’s true fate.
Karan Johar adds that if producers find happiness in spending their own money to boost figures, no one should judge them. However, he was blunt in saying that the industry is damaging its own image by spreading inflated box office data. According to him, audiences don’t care about whether the numbers are real or corporate, they only care if the film is good or bad.
Explaining further, Karan Johar mentioned that “self-booking” has now become an organised system, where some agencies even fill seats for payment. He believes that though such tactics may create early buzz, they offer little long-term benefit.
Corporate booking, a long-debated issue in Bollywood, continues to raise questions about honesty in box office reporting. While it may give the illusion of success for a short while, Karan Johar reminds everyone that true victory still depends on audiences’ love, not inflated numbers.
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