Karan Johar reacts to criticism and negativity faced by 'Brahmastra'
Ayan Mukerji's brainchild and one of the biggest films of Indian cinema, Brahmastra: Part One—Shiva was released on September 9. It received highly polarizing reviews, and while it was praised for its VFX, the weak storyline and underdeveloped, half-baked characters drew viewers' ire. Now, its co-producer Karan Johar has reacted to the backlash faced by the film and revealed what upset him the most.
Why does this story matter?
While Brahmastra may be having a dream run at the box office and dominating social media, it hasn't been marked safe from harsh backlash. Several people were not pleased with Alia Bhatt's character simply playing a lovestruck second fiddle, while some thought Ranbir Kapoor "played a manchild" yet again. Within the industry, Kangana Ranaut and Vivek Agnihotri had negative comments to offer, too.
'Can be critical, but not negative'
Reacting to the negativity surrounding Brahmastra, Karan Johar recently told Bollywood Hungama, "We have people who work in the industry and for the industry. Sometimes I feel that they can be critical, but being negative is not nice." "We accept criticism with open arms. Because being critical is very imperative... But I feel, sometimes some people push that from being critical to being negative."
People celebrating ruination of a film is upsetting, said KJo
Expressing his surprise over some people "wanting the film to not work," Johar said, "I wanted to ask them - don't you want to make sure this massive cinema experience gets the footfall so that we can force forward with so much more." He added, "That's the only thing that upsets me, that people within the industry sometimes, celebrate the ruination of a film."
Meanwhile, here's how the 'Brahmastra' franchise will shape up
Meanwhile, Brahmastra: Part Two—Dev will be the second part of the planned trilogy and is expected to pick up from where the first part concluded. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are rumored to be cast as Dev and Amrita (Kapoor's parents). Bhatt and Kapoor will also reprise their roles in the sequel. Mukerji is targeting the December 2025 slot for the sequel's release.