Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar has yet again made headlines with his claims. As the industry is under fire after repeated box office failures and accusations of “corporate booking”, a video from a podcast has gone viral. The Dharma Productions headliner recently released ‘Sunny Sanskari ki Tulsi Kumari‘ and the romantic-drama has made an effort to redeem Bollywood’s tarnished name.

When asked about the reality behind corporate bookings, from a producer’s point of view, Karan Johar explained his take on it. The podcaster asked, “Producers might buy their own tickets, but where do they get people from?” pointing at the hoax occupancy rates and houseful boards released on social media, as compared to the reality of just 8-10 people actually watching the film.

‘Everybody does what they have to do’

Explaining the common misconception, Karan Johar said, “Everybody does what they have to do…till the time it makes them happy.” Giving an analogy, he said, “I decided to give myself a cheque Rs 1 crore, and then I celebrated that I made a crore…Am I a fool or an intelligent man? I leave that for you to decide.”

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He further addressed those who engage in this practice, “If you are doing this for yourself, if you are happy – please do it.” Interesting, Johar did not deny the occurrence of these false claims or mass-bookings from the producer itself. “Why should anyone judge you for doing it? You are spending your own money,” he added.

Does it tarnish the name of the industry?

The interviewer, in the latter half of the segment, asked, “Do you think this spoils the name of the industry?” Replying to this, Johar rejected that claim and brushed it aside.

He overtly said, “Who is putting it to shame? The industry is shaming itself.” Negating the nomenclature, the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai director said that the critics and people from the industry itself use the term “corporate booking.” Furthermore, he said, “The audience is clueless,” for them, the only thing that matters is “whether or not they like the movie.” “They don’t care if the booking is corporate or desperate, only the people from the industry talk about this,” KJo added.

‘It’s called self-booking’

Johar went on to question the origin of the term ‘corporate booking’ and instead called it ‘individual or self booking’, as a means of self-gratification. He then revealed that “agencies are filling in the seats,” implying that several movies have multiple paid viewers, as a marketing tactic to boost sales.

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In the end, he justified the entire practice and normalised it. He shared, “Sometimes it has also helped certain films, giving them a kick-start energy,” tipping the scales in their favour.