How Karan Johar Reinvented His Brand With Unconventional Cinema
How Karan Johar Reinvented His Brand With Unconventional Films: Karan Johar is back-in-action with his rom-com Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani which released on Friday, July 28, 2023. The filmmaker has made a comeback after seven years ever since his romance-drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan hit the screens. With initial box office predictions and first reviews from netizens being positive, RARKPK is expected to create box office milestone. However, apart from the Ranveer Singh-Alia Bhatt starrer, Karan has also reinvented himself as a producer. Time and again he has adapted to the changes in pop culture, geopolitics, technology, economics and faith and beliefs.
KARAN JOHAR ALWAYS PRIORITISES HIS TARGET AUDIENCE
The Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani has always prioritised his audiences and even learnt from his failures and setbacks as a producer. While taking over his father, the late Yash Johar’s legacy as a family-oriented production company, Karan experimented with various genres. Apart from being a successful filmmaker he is also a great orator and a show host known for his wit, humour, communication skills and presentation. What is common in his all endeavours is marketing and USP (Unique Selling Proposition). Karan always makes sure to leave no stones unturned when it comes to audience engagement and promotional tactics. From the very beginning he is particularly about choosing subjects that relevant in today’s time and which connect to the audiences. Even niche content like Wake-Up Sid, The Lunchbox and Gehraiyaan get a larger-than-life spectacle in Dharma Productions without losing the simplicity of the narrative.
Karan’s production Wake-Up Sid was a coming-of-age film about an aimless young boy who discovers his passion and understands the meaning of life from the perspective of an aspiring writer. The late 2000s was the decade when Bollywood was going through an experimental makeover successfully. The audiences, or say, the 90 kids in their late teens and early 20s were willing to accept slice-of-life, realistic storytelling. With Wake-Up Sid the Dharma Productions brand grew up as its audiences matured. The Lunchbox and Yeh Jawan Hai Deewani turned out to be game changers. The late Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer romance-drama was well received despite its unconventional way of storytelling. The film played a crucial role in giving a boost-up to Nawazuddin’s career as he got recognition among both masses and niche audiences.
KARAN JOHAR BACKS HUMAN EMOTIONS AS THE SOUL OF STORYTELLING
Be it narrating the challenges and complexities of life in a light-hearted way through The Lunchbox or a roller-coaster journey depicting Bunny aka Ranbir’s character arc in Yeh Jawan Hai Deewani, Karan seems to be completely invested in all his projects. The very essence of Dharma brand is invoking human emotions and cherishing family bonds and friendships, irrespective of the genre. Kesari, which was based on the Battle of Saragarhi also had similarities with Brad Pitt starrer World War 2 war-actioner Fury. Apart from the patriotism and adrenaline rush, the film also showcased brothers-in-arms by giving a glimpse of the bond among soldiers. Shershaah, based on the life of Captain Vikram Batra not only came as a turning point in Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani’s career, but also debunked the Boycott Bollywood trend.
KARAN JOHAR REINVENTS MOVIE PRODUCTION WITH ASTRAVERSE TRILOGY
Karan once again experimented with Shakun Batra’s Gehraiyaan with the theme of infidelity. In-spite of receiving most positive reviews from film critics, the film was bashed by netizens due to its bold subject and sensual scenes. It was way too ahead of its time for Indian viewers. After bringing old wine in new bottle with the family-dramedy Jugjugg Jeeyo, Karan came up with his biggest gamble, Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva. Ayan Mukerji, who was riding high on the success of Wake-Up Sid and YJHD, once again collaborated with Ranbir Kapoor in the fantasy-actioner. There was a lot of positive and negative buzz about the film as it had Lord Shiva in the central theme. Brahmastra is the first movie backed by Karan, as part of Ayan’s Astraverse trilogy and was also co-produced by Ranbir. The element of Hinduism, spirituality, serene Ghats of Varanasi and Ranbir-Alia’s romance resonated with the movie buffs.
The filmmaker’s zest for achieving perfection in terms of quality product like a true marketing buff is one of the reasons he has stayed relevant since twenty-five years as a filmmaker in Indian cinema.
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