Has Karan Johar underachieved as a director?

Can Karan Johar be described in one word? Its next to impossible, isn’t it? The 46-year-old is a director, actor, producer, writer, talk show host, award presenter, entrepreneur, radio jockey and the list literally doesn’t end. KJo is synonymous with Bollywood and is irreplaceable when it comes to Hindi cinema. The mercurial personality has just finished the sixth season of his hip and trendy show ‘Koffee with Karan’ this past Sunday (February 24).

Now, consider these names for a moment – Rajkumar Hirani, Anurag Kashyap, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Basu, Dibakar Banerjee, Meghna Gulzar, Hansal Mehta and Ram Gopal Varma. What do these directors have in common? They all have given masterpieces and historic films that are etched in the memories of audiences. Their contribution would not be forgotten even with the passing of time. In all honesty, Karan would not find his name in this esteemed list and if he is really honest and forthright, he would admit it.

Rajkumar Hirani might be facing the heat over sexual harassment allegations, but he has delivered record-breaking films.

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Karan Johar, no doubt attracts eyeballs and TRPs on social media and every star want to attach himself with his grandeur brand. But, has KJo forgotten his roots as a director? This is the same director whose debut film was ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ in 1998 and that film was such a breath of fresh air amid melodrama and boredom. Karan then got a lot of stick for making films for Non-Resident Indians (NRI) like ‘Kal Ho Na Ho’ (he was the producer), ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ and truth to be told, they were not for a niche market or for foreign audience, but films which were badly made.

The multi-faceted Karan has taken his father’s production house Dharma Productions to a new level. He has launched so many directors and actors and that shows his business skills. Dharma is currently one of the most successful production houses going around in the industry.

But, amid all this glamour and glitz, he has not progressed as a director one bit (with the possible exception of ‘My Name Is Khan’). Johar is a very proud man and when he sees his contemporaries like Raju Hirani making ‘PK’, ‘Sanju’, Anurag Kashyap making hard-hitting films, Zoya delivering ‘Gully Boy’, the inner mongrel in him would be quite envious.

Karan Johar is a brand, but his legacy would be known by making path-breaking cinema and not by making “Toodles” videos. The social media king is taking a huge risk by directing a periodical drama like ‘Takht’, which is based on the Mughal dynasty and it has a stellar star cast.

KJo is famous for his “Toodles” videos and regularly puts them on Instagram.

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He also expressed that he wants to cast two prime stars and show the homosexual relationship between them. With the amount of talent and resources that Karan has, he should be making cinema, which is relevant and extraordinary. Karan Johar is only 46 years of age and if he wants to be known as a real legend, then he has to get his game face on as a director.

50 years from now on, nobody would care about who made what snarky or sarcastic comment about who on ‘Koffee with Karan’. The great irony is ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ was more in news for Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s presence than the film itself. Karan Johar would be remembered for his work as a director and not for how many star kids he launched in the Hindi film industry.

Also Read: Pulwama Attack: Is Bollywood finally walking the talk on Pakistan and terrorism?