Karan Johar does not want his sexuality to be used as headlines: “Will just be ridiculed and reduced”

Filmmaker Karan Johar, recognized for incorporating queer narratives in mainstream cinema like Kapoor & Sons and anthology Bombay Talkies, chooses to remain discreet about his sexuality. Johar refrains from discussing his personal life openly. This decision stems from a desire to avoid being reduced to mere headlines and facing ridicule.

Speaking to The Week, Karan Johar said, “I don’t want such a large part of my life to be used as a headline. I think that’s what it will become, just a headline, and then the impact of all that I do will be lost.”

“I have never hidden who I am. I’d rather do the work on ground level. I believe the impact of what I have done through my cinema, through the things I have said in my book (‘An Unsuitable Boy’, 2017, co-written with journalist Poonam Saxena), has already touched people in a way where they were able to start conversations with their peers and parents. I’ve received so many letters and emails from people telling me the way I have addressed sexuality in my films has helped them address the situation with their parents. I feel the job has started, and it is ongoing. I will continue to push that envelope,” he explained.

“Me saying anything will just be sensational, it will just be ridiculed and reduced. But cinema is a far more impressionable medium,” the director of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani said.

Furthermore, he explained how Dharma Productions ensures to incorporate queer stories. He said “We deal with sexuality in as dignified a way as possible. We believe in positive messaging and, as a company, we feel passionate about telling the stories that could make you awkward. Right from Geeli Pucchi in Ajeeb Dastaans to Kiara Advani having an orgasm to one of my songs in Lust Stories, we talk about women’s right to sexual pleasure. We want to push boundaries.”

On the work front, Karan Johar last directed Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles. It was released in July 2023. ALSO READ: Karan Johar reveals his decision to have Yash and Roohi via surrogacy at 40: “My mother asked what my life plans were as marriage wasn’t on the cards”

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