EXCLUSIVE: Karan Johar says he was at the centre of ‘negativity’ during pandemic; calls out trolling ‘unfair’: ‘It was not a nice time’

The pandemic in 2020 saw a rise in negativity and trolling of Bollywood movies and celebs. The bigwigs were being called out for nepotism, and ganging up on outsiders and a lot of topics led to many being brutally shredded on social media. Filmmaker Karan Johar was one of the names, who was at the receiving end of it all. Now, the filmmaker says that a lot of the trolling was ‘unfair’.

In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Karan Johar said that while a lot of trolling happened, he did come out stronger. “Bollywood went through a really tough time with all the trolling and bashing that was happening. It was not a nice time. I, particularly, felt I was right at the centre of so much negativity. It was something I never envisaged, imagined. I felt there was so much being said and written that was unfair.”

He added, “Yet, one had to chin up and move on. Because eventually, I am accountable to my company, to my mum, and my family. I just felt I had to be stronger and take it all in my stride. To be resilient was very important at that point of time. It was just so unnecessary and I am glad, we could go past that and focus on work. That’s what I did. I put all my thoughts on the work zone. Maybe not everybody came out as a stronger human being, but I’d like to say there were many.”

On the professional front, Karan Johar’s next directorial is Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Shabana Azmi. The film is slated for 2023 release. The filmmaker is also planning to direct an action entertainer with hopes to kick off the shoot in April 2023.