- Karan Johar criticised paid publicity practices in the Hindi film industry
- He urged Bollywood to reduce excessive marketing and let films speak for themselves
- Karan said all PR is now paid, making it hard to gauge genuine audience reactions
Karan Johar has spoken out against the growing practice of paid publicity in the Hindi film industry, saying it should stop as it makes it hard to understand real audience reactions.
Speaking at a recent industry event organised by The Week, Karan said Bollywood needs to cut down on excessive marketing and allow films to speak for themselves. He stressed that aggressive publicity campaigns often blur the line between genuine public response and manufactured hype.
During the discussion, an audience member referred to actors such as Janhvi Kapoor and Shanaya Kapoor using what she described as "method marketing" to promote their recent films, Param Sundari and Tu Yaa Main. She asked whether such PR strategies were likely to become more common in Bollywood.
What Karan Johar Said
The director said, "I think Bollywood should stop doing PR. It would be much better. They should let their achievements speak for themselves because, unfortunately, all PR is now 'paid PR'. So, if you want to say you are looking gorgeous, you just have to pay. If you want to say you are the best actor on the planet, you have to pay. I think we are in overdrive mode when it comes to PR. So whether they are doing method marketing or not is secondary; they should stop marketing themselves and let their work speak."
Karan clarified that he was not singling out any actor. He said his comments were about the trend as a whole, adding that paid PR has made it increasingly difficult to measure organic audience feedback on films.
"I don't mean the people you are talking about. I mean everyone in general. Publicity and marketing are very important work categories and should be treated accordingly. But now, everything is available at a price, and that is something that can be deeply upsetting, because then you really can't gauge what is connecting and what is not. Now, you look at everything and ask, 'Are people really liking it, or have they been paid to like it?'," Karan added.
Also Read: Karan Johar Reviews Matka King, Calls Vijay Varma's Show "The Perfect Binge"