This is not a comeback from a hiatus, but a dramatic shift in the public response to Johar, following three years in which he was singled out by raging online hordes as the poster boy of nepotism in the Hindi film industry.
In June 2020, when the actor Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide, there was an outcry about cliques in Hindi film circles. What could have been a healthy debate soon descended into noise when an abusive, illogical internet mob took over the discourse. While ‘nepo babies’ of all Hindi film families came under fire, Johar was identified as their head boy.
Johar’s coronation is partly attributable to the industry grapevine. The director-producer-writer – son of the late producer Yash Johar – has long been dogged by behind-the-scenes charges of favouritism towards industry insiders. Then, in 2017 on his show, the actor Kangana Ranaut openly described him as a ‘flagbearer of nepotism’.
At the time, Ranaut was applauded by liberals. Much has changed since then. Her sobriety, for one, has turned to screaming irrationalism. As the self-appointed commander-in-chief of an anti-nepotism virtual army, she destroyed the likelihood of a serious scrutiny of her industry by using the debate to snipe at foes, especially those not aligned with her right-wing politics.
Johar was sharp enough to recognise that his bete noire was imploding. So, between 2020 and 2023, he maintained a low profile in the media, but remained unrelenting at work. Despite #BoycottBollywood running incessantly online, his production house’s output during the pandemic earned acclaim on OTT platforms. As Covid-19-related restrictions on theatres were gradually lifted, when Hindi audiences abjured Hindi releases and embraced South Indian cinema instead, Johar’s company was among the first from his industry to notch up a blockbuster. Meanwhile, analysts had begun pointing to the suspicious overlap between right-wing forces and the anti-nepotism brigade. The release of RARKPK this July was a decisive turning point. By then, a sentiment was also emerging on social media: that Johar had been unfairly attacked in the anti-nepotism melee. Johar’s success has, so far, rested on emotional narratives and glossy packaging. His earliest works unapologetically endorsed patriarchal values. The director who had once romanticised Karva Chauth in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), surprised feminists with a rebellious heroine in 2023. RARKPK’s Rani (Alia Bhatt) is a far cry from Anjali of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), who was made to ditch her short hair, jeans and verve for long tresses, saris and demureness. RARKPK’s most winning moment demolished conventional notions of masculinity with an electrifying revisitation of ‘Dola re’, the hit number from Devdas.
Now have come two new episodes of Koffee With Karan, sans the sexual innuendo and giggly gossip that had become a hallmark of the show over time. In his introductory remarks last week, Johar explained that he had been listening to the public. ‘Maybe last season warranted a little redo with a cleaner conscience,’ he said to the camera. Then added: ‘Thanks to you and your words on the internet, we are now way more ‘evolved’ (air quotes) as a fraternity… and also as a show.’
Johar’s monologue was a sedate extension of the hero Rocky Randhawa’s outburst in RARKPK, about his struggle to keep pace with the requirements of political correctness. And a maturing Randhawa in that moment was an extension of Johar. Like him, the director seems to be telling us that he’s trying his utmost. If social media chatter is a barometer, it appears the public has noticed.
The writer is author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic
