Karan Johar, in his recent interview, pointed out how the film industry has become fixated on hyper-masculine roles. The director also spoke about how mainstream Hindi cinema is increasingly gravitating towards over-the-top portrayals of masculinity, often sidelining nuance and diverse storytelling in the process. This comes amid the massive success of films like Animal and Dhurandhar duology.

Karan Johar bases hyper-masculine narratives in movies

In a chat with The Week, Karan Johar spoke about how most of the theatre releases today are driven by high-octane, male-centric narratives. Karan feels that in many films aggression and machismo take centre stage. However, there is room for improvement and variety when it comes to OTT platforms.

Talking about Bollywood’s ‘herd mentality’, the director said, “If one film works in a certain zone, there will be 10 more. So you will see 10 more high-octane testosterone movies where men are just walking in slow motion for no reason and going nowhere in particular, but they will be walking in that way. They’ll all have beards and they will all smoke. Apparently, that’s what women like to watch, or at least, that’s what the men think.”

Further calling himself a feminist, Karan Johar recalled the backlash he received for portraying a different kind of masculinity in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.

Credit: Dharma Productions

Karan said, “I had a whole barrage of mainstream audiences who asked, ‘How could you depict a man like that?’ And I’m like, if I am going to focus my attention on a certain audience and not have conviction, then why am I here? I am a born feminist and will always tell a feminist story.”

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh and Animal started a wave of hyper-masculine films in India. The central male character has similar looks and habits: brooding male leads, rugged appearances, smoking habits and a natural inclination towards violence and bloodshed.

On the work front for Karan Johar

Karan is currently busy with Koffee With Karan 9. In the same interview, the director revealed that Koffee With Karan, his famous chat show will be back this Diwali. Koffee with Karan first started as a television show, hosted by Karan, in 2004. The show is known for giving us some of the most controversial moments from Bollywood and the world of cricket.

Karan Johar is also gearing up for the release of Chaand Mera Dil.

Directed by Vivek Soni and backed by Dharma Productions, the romantic drama features Ananya Panday and Lakshay in lead roles.

Lead and social image credits: Instagram/ karanjohar