There has often been discussions around how the era of the superstardom is over, that it ended with the Khans of the industry. The topic became a hot one, especially when all their movies started performing poorly at the box office, and the younger generation of actors, a breed more open to experimentation, took over.
In a new interview with Film Companion, director-producer Karan Johar also spoke about superstardom, but not in connection with the superstars’ box office performances. Instead, he said that the lack of such a superstardom is primarily due to lack of a certain mystery about the young artistes. These days everyone is so accessible, said Karan.
“The magnetism, the aura, the mystery, I don’t think this generation has it. When I was at a party, and Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Mr Dilip Kumar walked in, Mr Shah Rukh Khan walked in, there were heads turning everywhere, I have seen it. That aura, everybody feeling their presence, that was power, that was stardom. That was glory. Today, everybody is much easier, more casual, more accessible, more available. I know which gym you go to, which Pilates class you go to, I know what you eat, I know who you meet, I know everything about you, how can there be any mystery about you?” questioned Johar.
Further elaborating his point with SRK’s entry into his 50th birthday party, Karan said, “When Shah Rukh Khan came to my party, you could feel the thumping energy of the younger generation. You know that SRK is SRK, that kingdom that he has, that feeling that he evokes, it’s true. If he walked in right now, you would feel his energy even if you didn’t see him. You can sense Shah Rukh. He was the only one who didn’t walk the red carpet and came from the other side at my party. So I could see that from the younger movie actors, maybe from as young as Ananya Panday, right up to his peers, everybody felt that aura.”
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PremiumKaran said that actors may get massive popularity even now, but he is not sure they enjoy superstardom.
“I don’t think there’s going to be that kind of stardom anymore, I am not saying it’s a wrong or a right thing. It just doesn’t exist. I mean this generation has some of the most brilliant artistes, but do they have that magic, that aura? I don’t know, I am not so sure,” concluded Karan Johar.
