Karan Johar defends Bollywood amid big-budget failures, says ‘every musical won’t become Saiyaara’: ‘Box office has no rules’ | Bollywood News

Bollywood is not going through its best phase at the moment and one can say that in 2025, apart from hits like Chhaava and Saiyaara, many films haven’t been able to make it big at the box office. While some believe that the high entourage cost of the stars is to be blamed, others have questioned whether the astronomical star fee should be put under the scanner. Recently, filmmaker Karan Johar, one of the producers of the upcoming Teja Sajja starrer Mirai, attended the press meet of the film in Mumbai and during the event, he was asked about the same, and Karan said that while one can see smaller budget films doing well, that’s not a rule. He applauded Saiyaara, which starred newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda for breaking the clutter.
When asked a journal about what’s going wrong with the Hindi film industry, Karan replied, “Aisa kuch nahi hai, sir (It’s nothing like that). Every film has its own destiny and story. It has also happened many times that there are very big stars in the film, and it has also worked. So, this is not at all the case.”
The filmmaker mentioned that every actor has become understanding about the situation. “All the actors have started understanding now that they have to contribute to the film’s vision. They are dealing separately. Everybody has become understanding of our times. So, we can’t put everything in a box – if we take young actors and have a big vision, then this film will work. It has happened several times that such films also haven’t worked. You can’t say anything for sure,” he said.
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He further added, “There are different eras, films, and experiences. We have watched so many films that actually keep changing our narratives. Now, many musical films will be released with newcomers, but that doesn’t mean all of them will become a Saiyaara. Animation films will also come, but they also won’t necessarily become Narsimha Mahavatar.”
Karan also stated that the audience will decide the fate of a film. “Box office has no rules. You have to create stories, tell different stories and then the film becomes yours. The audience has to decide if they want to give love, business, and respect to any film. The audience is god. They will decide.”
Mirai features Teja Sajja, along with Shriya Saran, Jagapathi Babu, Manoj Kumar Manchu, Ritika Nayak, Jayaram, and others. Helmed Karthik Gattamneni, it is set to hit the theaters on September 12.