Karan Johar Says He Was 'Born Feminist' As He Addresses Questionable Gender Politics In 'DDLJ'

Karan Johar has given us some of Bollywood's most beloved films. The filmmaker knows his audience and how to sell them the big and glamorous Bollywood that we love without making it seem too unrelatable. However, recently, the actor opened up about one of his best films and shared how he came up with the ideas for his initial films. 

Karan Johar addresses gender politics in his films

Karan Johar has directed some phenomenal works over the years, yet Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) has been a fan favourite for decades. However, the film did not just attract a massive fan following but, with the evolving society, became the target of some critics. Among many scenes that sparked the debate, one of the key topics has been the scene where Shah Rukh Khan's character, 'Raj' pretends he and Kajol's character, 'Simran', slept together after she got completely drunk. This led 'Simran' to believe that she lost her virginity. 

The scene, though, became a hit back then and has now become a topic of discussion about the movie's gender politics. In a recent conversation with Lilly Singh on her YouTube channel, Karan addressed this issue and revealed how he was a born feminist. He was quoted saying:

"It goes back to what I began with. When I made Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I was called out by Shabana Azmi, and it made me think. Because in my heart, in my head, in my being, I am a born feminist, and I was like, 'I am that person.' I believe in equality. I believe in correct gender politics, so why am I not positioning that entire belief on celluloid?

Karan Johar tried fixing this imbalance with his hit release, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani. He shared that the film mattered to him because he had a lot to say. He even admitted that the film was not a love story or family drama but rather a jab at the patriarchy. He was quoted saying:

"And that’s why Rocky Aur Rani mattered to me: I needed to say what I needed to say. It was a film that was not just about family drama; it wasn’t just a love story; it called out our patriarchy. It also addressed cancel culture because it is something I believe needs to be addressed."

Karan Johar addresses the questionable scene in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge

In the same conversation, Karan Johar also brought up the questionable DDLJ scene between 'Raj' and 'Simran'. He revealed that he was there on the set when the scene was shot and that none of them thought it would be discussed like this. Karan also revealed what inspired his initial films and stated:

"I was in that moment on that set. I can assure you none of us thought that years down the lane, it would be discussed like this. Everybody did it with a complete space of honesty. Everything that you saw in my initial movies came from the Hindi cinema. Eventually, Hindi cinema started evolving, and so did the filmmakers."

What are your thoughts on Karan Johar's revelations?

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