Karan Johar slams Bollywood actors asking for 'huge' paychecks

Renowned Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar slammed actors asking for big paychecks despite their movies giving a low box office opening.

In a recent interview, he opened up on the rising expenditure to make a movie and the need to revamp the film industry, an Indian media outlet reported.

“Firstly, the audiences’ tastes have become very definitive. They want a certain kind of cinema. And if you (as a maker) want to do a certain number, then your film has to perform at A, B, and C centres. Multiplexes alone will not suffice,” he said.

According to Karan Johar, the cost of making a film has increased exponentially on the back of inflation in India.

“There are about 10 viable actors in Hindi cinema, and they are all asking for the sun, moon, and earth. So, you pay them; then you pay for the film, and then the marketing expenditure comes. And then your film doesn’t do the numbers. Those movie stars asking for Rs 35 crore are opening to Rs 3.5 crore. How’s that math working? How do you manage all these?” he lamented.

However, Johar said that filmmakers have to keep making movies and create content as they have to run their organisations.

Taking shots at the “herd mentality” of the Bollywood film industry, the filmmaker said that everyone begins making actions movies if one such movie becomes a box office.

“Then suddenly a love story would work. I feel like we are running around like headless chickens. Conviction has taken a complete beating, and it’s all about herd mentality. We haven’t realised that there is a certain audience now that wants rooted Indian cinema and, without the pressure of what the critics have to say, pure joy,” Karan Johar added.