'Men don’t know how to face rejection... the moment they are rejected, they go crazy in love and those stories resonate very deeply.'
Key Points
- Karan Johar acknowledges the success of 'alpha-driven' films due to their 'front footed machismo'.
- Johar highlights that these films cater to a segment of the audience that Hindi cinema has not been serving.
- He links the success of certain films to emotional identification, especially among male viewers facing rejection.
- Johar expresses conflict over the cultural implications of the popularity of 'alpha misogynistic' films.
- He questions whether society is becoming more regressive and enjoying 'alpha energy' and misogyny more.
Karan Johar has offered an honest take on the success of 'alpha-driven' films like Animal and Dhurandhar, sticking closely to what he calls a clear shift in audience preference.
Speaking on a podcast with Sarthak Ahuja, Karan underlined that these films are working because they deliver 'front-footed machismo' and 'front-footed Alpha energy.'
He was careful not to morally slot them, saying, 'rightly or wrongly let us not discuss that,' but acknowledged that 'it is attractive to certain audiences'.
Explaining why Animal and Dhurandhar have connected, Johar pointed directly to the audience they are serving.
'There is a certain mass level multiplex or tier 2 multiplex or single screen which reacts to certain kind of cinema that actually Hindi cinema mainly has not been catering to them at all,' he said, adding that these films are now filling that gap.
The Appeal Of Emotional Identification In Films
Karan Johar tied the success of Aashiqui and Saiyaara to emotional identification, particularly among male viewers.
'Men don’t know how to face rejection... the moment they are rejected, they go crazy in love and those stories resonate very deeply,' Johar said.
'Mass male audiences go for in large numbers as I always say women are resilient and they are strong. They will overcome from a broken heart because they have them all. Men don’t know how to face rejection. So all men are only suffering from broken hearts. They identify with stories of broken hearts. So all the biggest sad songs are for men and are sung by men.
'You will be surprised we talk all the time about male entitlement and misogyny but they are the weakest in love because they don’t know how to handle rejection. The moment they are rejected, they go crazy in love and those stories resonate very deeply. So all those movies have worked. What is not working are family dramas, rom-coms, and emotional dramas. Today, what no one is talking about is pure horror on which I am betting on next,' added Johar.
'What people want is high concept that draws you to cinema, the unusual the things you haven’t seen. Not in the emotional space but in mythology space. Like horror comedy is a very community experience. When you are watching, you are getting scared together and laughing it out together. So the community watch comes through horror.
'What India has not succeeded is in pure horror movies. We haven’t got our Nun or Conjuring movies. This can be a huge breakthrough if you get it right. This genre has not been very successful,' added Johar.
Karan Johar's Conflict Over 'Alpha' Film Trend
Karan Johar admitted he is conflicted by the larger cultural signal.
'This alpha misogynistic film that is working is counter-productive to those movies made on pure feminism,' he said.
What surprises him even more is the audience data: 'There are so many evolved liberal women who will speak about alpha men, but there are many more women who are watching these films and loving them. I get very thrown off by data.'
He also questioned whether this points to a wider shift.
'Do you know during the '80s, which was considered possibly as the worst form of Indian cinema as asthetic took a beating, there were many women-centric movies that did well -- Zakhmi Aurat, Khoon Bhari Maang, Phool Baney Angarey. I will tell you about movies that you may not even have heard of and they did huge business at the box office, led by Rekha, Dimple Kapadia and so many prolific actresses.
'Today, I find it is lesser. It is weird as we should be more evolved today. But have we taken a backseat? Are we more regressive today? Are we enjoying alpha energy more today? Are we enjoying misogyny more today? How uncomfortable I am about that today? I am waiting for Alpha to release to answer that question,' Johar said, leaving the thought open-ended.
Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, is an action thriller movie and will release on July 10.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
