Karan Johar on his reaction to the criticism online: ‘I have shut it out of life’

Over the past decade, director Karan Johar has stated that he has been consistently trolled and vitrioled on social media. The filmmaker, who is known for his candid remarks, has frequently been the target for those attacking nepotism in Bollywood. Karan claims that he has now learned to shut out the distracting noise in his life and concentrate entirely on the positive.

Numerous discussions on nepotism and the power structure in Bollywood have taken place over the past few years and requests to boycott Karan’s films too have been made on social media. The latest talking point has been the content on his talk show Koffee with Karan. Recently, the filmmaker talked about how he handles the unfavourable attention he gets.

In an interview with Indian Express, he said,“I think that you have to turn a blind eye towards negativity in general. I think if you are positive from within, you will only attract positivity. However, if you start listening and reacting to negative things, it will only bring the same energy. And hence, I have shut it out of life.”

The filmmaker also explained that pointing out wrongs and being critical of it occasionally makes sense. “I also believe that negativity should be justified. Jo galat hai (Whatever is wrong), it deserves to be told off but you cannot do it for no reason. Hence, I just choose to focus only on positivity,” he said.

Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani marks Karan's directorial comeback after nearly seven years. The movie, which will hit theatres in 2023, features Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi.