The whispers have been growing louder for months, punctuated by the quiet halls of multiplexes and the grim trade figures in entertainment newsletters. “Bollywood is in crisis,” some declare. “The magic is gone,” lament others. But in a spirited, impromptu address at a Mumbai media event today, filmmaker and industry stalwart Karan Johar pushed back fiercely against what he calls a “reductionist and premature obituary” for Hindi cinema.
“We are quick to write our own epitaph,” Johar stated, his tone uncharacteristically sharp. “But are we looking at the entire picture? Or are we just counting ticket windows and ignoring the screens in our pockets?”
The context is undeniable. The first eight months of 2025 have seen a troubling pattern. Big-budget films headlined by A-list stars have opened to tepid response, failing to cross the coveted ₹100-crore mark—a benchmark that had become almost routine pre-pandemic. Mid-budget films, once the reliable heart of the industry, have struggled to find any footing at all. Trade analysts have cited a perfect storm: ballooning production costs, the lingering after-effects of the pandemic on viewing habits, and the meteoric rise of Southern cinema, whose pan-India spectacles like the recent “Kalki 2” have captured the nation’s imagination.
But Johar argues that the conversation is stuck in 2019. “The box office is just one metric,” he insisted. “It is the most visible, the most talked about, but it is no longer the only one. We are living in a multi-platform universe. A film might not set the box office on fire, but it becomes a massive hit on streaming two weeks later. It trends for weeks. It creates memes, dialogues, and fashion trends. Where is that calculus?”
He has a point. The traditional 90-day theatrical window has all but collapsed. Today, a film arrives on a streaming platform, often within a month of its release, where its success is measured in viewership hours—a number studios guard fiercely but is rarely part of the public discourse on a film’s failure or success. Johar cited his own recent production, a medium-budget comedy that had a modest theatrical run but, according to internal data he referenced, became one of the most-watched Indian films on its streaming platform last quarter.
“The goalposts have moved,” he said. “The audience hasn’t left us; they’ve just expanded their definition of where and how they watch us. We are judging a 2025 industry with a 2005 report card.”
His defense also touched on a more sensitive nerve: the quality of storytelling. Johar conceded that the industry has had its share of misfires. “Yes, some of our films have been out of touch. But so have films from every industry in the world. For every film that doesn’t work, there is an ‘All India Rank’ or a ‘Blackout’ that shows the incredible, nuanced storytelling we are still capable of. We are in a phase of correction, not collapse.”
The reaction from the industry has been swift and divided. A veteran trade analyst, on condition of anonymity, countered Johar’s argument: “Streaming revenue is a consolation prize. It doesn’t employ the thousands of spot boys, set designers, and theater staff whose livelihoods depend on a thriving theatrical business. A box office hit creates an ecosystem; a streaming hit primarily benefits the platform and the top-line producers.”
Yet, many younger actors and directors have rallied behind Johar’s sentiment on social media, seeing it as a long-overdue defense against a relentless negativity cycle. The hashtag #NewBollywoodMath began trending shortly after his comments.
The core of Johar’s argument is not that everything is fine, but that the diagnosis is wrong. The problem isn’t that Bollywood is dying; it’s that it’s transforming at a dizzying speed. The audience’s palate has evolved, becoming more diverse and discerning. A loyal fanbase in Uttar Pradesh might have different expectations than a family in Kerala, both of whom are now part of Hindi cinema’s potential audience thanks to dubbing and subtitles.
“This isn’t a struggle for survival,” Johar concluded. “It’s a struggle for reinvention. And we’ve done that before. We will find our new language, our new stars, and our new business models. The show isn’t over; the intermission is just longer than we expected.”
The ultimate verdict won’t come from a single speech or a week’s box office tally. It will come from the content itself. The next few months, with a slate of highly anticipated, big-ticket films, will be the real test. But for now, KJo has thrown a much-needed punch back at the narrative of doom, forcing the industry and its audience to look beyond the opening weekend and into a more complex, fragmented, and fascinating future.
