Renowned Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar has sparked conversation with his candid take on the current state of Hindi cinema. Speaking in a recent interview, Johar admitted that the industry is facing a “great crisis” when it comes to directors capable of delivering large-scale, front-footed mainstream blockbusters that pull audiences into theatres.

Johar believes a generational shift is at the heart of the problem. He explained that a whole generation in North India grew up on a different kind of Hindi cinema—romantic dramas, Shah Rukh Khan–era love stories, and films shot in exotic foreign locales—heavily influenced by globalisation. According to him, these filmmakers never experienced making “testosterone-driven” mass entertainers and now struggle to convincingly emulate them. “When they try, they go flat on their face,” he remarked.

The Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani director emphasised that Bollywood should stop chasing the South Indian formula of mass masala and epic-scale action, and instead focus on genres it has excelled at for decades.

Johar praised the recent success of Saiyaara, directed by Mohit Suri, as an example of Hindi cinema playing to its strengths. He noted that the film earned praise from South filmmakers—an unusual reversal of recent trends where Bollywood directors were the ones congratulating their Southern counterparts for box-office triumphs.

“We need to bring back conviction in what we do best,” Johar concluded.