Karan Johar hails Shah Rukh Khan and the blockbuster success of Jawan and Pathaan: “I’d go MAD if I saw these numbers coming in for my film” : Bollywood News

The industry suffered tremendously in 2020 and 2021 due to the shutting down of theatres and the fear of going to cinemas following the COVID-19 pandemic. Things normalized in 2022 but several films failed to get the audiences in hordes. However, things took a positive turn in 2023. The year began with a bang with the blockbuster success of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Pathaan. It emerged as an all-time grosser. SRK’s next, Jawan, was an even bigger hit. Gadar 2 was another Rs. 500 crore+ grosser of the year. Many other films too, worked big time at the ticket window in 2023.

Karan Johar hails Shah Rukh Khan and the blockbuster success of Jawan and Pathaan: “I’d go MAD if I saw these numbers coming in for my film”

One such film was Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, starring Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. Directed by Karan Johar, it was a success in India and a very big hit overseas. During an interaction held by Pinkvilla, Karan Johar talked about the current box office trends and particularly mentioned about the over-performance of Shah Rukh Khan’s films.

Karan Johar said, “Your film is a superstar. Even if you have a superstar, your film has to work. Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar are all massive superstars. We have so many of them in the younger generation as well.”

Karan continued, “Shah Rukh has proven this year that he deserves that glorious crown. Look at the numbers (of Pathaan and Jawan). They are fantastic. I had never dreamt of (such figures). I’d go mad if I saw these numbers coming in for my film! But I am so proud that (it happened for a Shah Rukh Khan film).” He added, “Eventually, the film is a superstar.”

Karan Johar then explained that big-screen entertainers or sequels were the ones that saw success at the ticket window, “Everything that has worked has been an event film, be it Jawan, Pathaan or Gadar 2. Then Dream Girl 2 and Fukrey 3 were sequels. Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani worked purely on the strength of its word of mouth. We didn’t open to a grand number. But the film got the love and hence, it went on to do the business that it eventually did.”

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