Karan Johar says 'Bollywood should stop doing PR': Director explains how it is harming the industry. 'Everything is available at a price'

Filmmaker Karan Johar has spoken openly about what he sees as a growing problem in Bollywood, the heavy reliance on public relations and paid publicity. In a recent interaction with The Week, he said the industry may be better off if it slowed down on aggressive promotion and allowed the work itself to do the talking.

His remarks come at a time when film promotions have become more elaborate and, at times, unconventional, with actors experimenting with different ways to stay visible.

PR culture has gone into 'overdrive'

Responding to a question about recent promotional strategies — including mentions of Janhvi Kapoor and Shanaya Kapoor — Johar made it clear that his concern is not about individuals but the overall trend.


“I think Bollywood should stop doing PR. It will be much better. They should let their achievement speak for itself because, unfortunately, all of the PR is now paid PR. If you want to say 'You are looking gorgeous', you just have to pay. If you want to say that you are the best actor on planet Earth, you have to pay.”

He went on to say, “So I think we are on overdrive mode when it comes to PR. So whether they are doing method marketing or not is secondary. They should stop marketing themselves and let their work speak for themselves. I don't mean the people you are talking about I mean everyone in general. Because I think PR's becoming into overdrive mode. There's a certain way of doing it. Publicity, marketing- these are very important work categories and this should be treated in that specific way.”

Paid publicity making it harder to judge real success

Johar also spoke about something that seems to be bothering him more — the difficulty in understanding what audiences genuinely like.

“Now everything is available at a price and that is something that could be deeply upsetting because then you really can't gauge what's connecting and what's now. Are people liking it or are paid to like it? I don't know, I can't tell half the time. It's confusing me because even I am sometimes paying for it.”

Through this, he suggested that when everything can be amplified with money, the line between organic popularity and manufactured buzz becomes blurred, even for people within the industry.

Not against marketing, but wants balance

At the same time, Johar did not dismiss marketing altogether. He acknowledged that publicity and promotions are an important part of the film business, but stressed that they need to be used in a more measured and structured way instead of dominating the conversation around films and actors.

His larger point seemed to be that constant visibility should not replace craft, and that the focus should shift back to storytelling and performance.

On the work front, Johar also shared a brief update about his popular talk show Koffee with Karan. He confirmed that the new season is expected to return around Diwali this year, saying, “This year, Diwali, Season 9.”

He also revealed that his 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is being developed into a long-form series, indicating a shift towards exploring longer storytelling formats.