Mumbai Mar 26 PTI Karan Johar on Saturday said Hindi cinema sometimes fall prey to herd mentality where filmmakers tend to follow popular trends instead of setting new onesThe 49-year-old filmmaker was speaking at ABP Networks Ideas of India summit where he discussed the rise of the South film industry and the lessons for BollywoodI am putting myself in the same bracket when I say that Hindi cinema I feel sometimes we fall prey to herd mentality We shift the focus from the eye on the ball and go to whats happening around us We tend to do that all the time Ive done it myself Johar said while interacting with film critic Mayank ShekharThe filmmaker gave the example of how there is an influx of stories which are either biopics cinematic spectacles or small-town storiesIve done the same I have followed the same I have not created many paths I have followed trends That is what happens in Hindi cinema We sometimes lose the courage of our convictions and so filmmakers also get carried away with this wavering energy he addedJohar further pointed out how the South film industry has been following the same path of filmmaking for yearsTheyre not looking at what we are doing or what Hollywood is doing Theyre doing their thing Their syntax has remained the same they have up their technology and we have a lot to catch up withBut I feel sometimes as we lose the courage of our convictions there are certain filmmakers who havent like Sanjay Leela Bhansali does what he wants to do Rohit Shetty too does what he wants to do he is not listening to intellectuals critics or Instagram Hes doing his thing He was particularly impressed by the box office collection of the recently released pan-India movie RRR helmed by SS Rajamouli whom he referred as the biggest Indian filmmakerCiting the craze behind Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa and its massive success across the country especially the Hindi-speaking belt Johar said the true crossover can be witnessed from the fact that people today are listening and dancing to the films Telugu songsJohar believes the key reason behind the enthusiasm for South films is due to the digital explosionThe Hindi film industry is being inspired on a weekly basis by the film industry from the South by what is happening in Hollywood and what is happening digitally Everyone is kind of coming on together So we got to watch what we do at every step The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil director also shared that the South film industry has held on to their movie stardom because of their content and the way they position their moviesTelugu film industry has made certain kinds of films which are all about its inherent heroism there are few wonderful female actors that have done solo lead films But we in Hindi cinema have got widely eclectic in terms of our storytelling choicesWe havent held on The way we position Amitabh Bachchan in the 70s which actually began the entire concept of heroism We changed our syntax later whereas Telugu cinema specifically held on to it their heroism was kept intact Speaking of stardom and superstars Johar believes in Hindi cinema particularly it is the age of an actor and that we are no longer living in the age of superstar Giving examples of superstars such as Shah Rukh Khan Salman Khan Aamir Khan Akshay Kumar Ajay Devgn Hrithik Roshan Johar said they all are massive movie stars as they have a legacy behind them which cant be wiped outBut today we talk about the actors of this generation its going to go into a zone of an actor the age of an actor Its no longer going to be the age of superstar or star I dont think its possible after creating that euphoria that the names I just mentioned have had he addedMeanwhile when asked how does he see the vilification of Bollywood with hashtags like hateBollywood ban Bollywood and some even pointed towards him on social media Johar said he was initially affected by it but has later chose to look at the love and support from a large section of peopleEmotionally speaking it was a very difficult time for me and my family two years ago Johar said adding It was not easy because we brought the surface things that should not have been brought to the surfaceBut we also reacted to that surface We should have known that we are actually talking about a very tiny percentage of people who are very actively loud on social media The producer said he used to take certain things to his heart when they would pop up on his timelineBut we dont see the love that exists in large numbers larger than the negativity larger than the trolling larger than anything that you face in terms of criticism We chose to see the bad We react to the bad we bring ourselves down he saidIve got to analyze it within and I said to myself why am I sad about faceless nameless people thinking about me I shouldnt care about them I should actually be grateful to the love that I get which is in larger numbers Thats what Ive chosen to do he added PTI KKP RB RB

Mumbai Mar 21 PTI Actors Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty have joined superstar Akshay Kumar in the upcoming drama-comedy Selfiee makers announced on MondayDirected by Raj Mehta of Good Newwz fame the film is a remake of the 2019 Malayalam-language comedy-drama Driving LicenceSelfiee backed by filmmaker Karan Johars Dharma Productions also stars Emraan HashmiJohar took to Twitter and shared an announcement video featuring Bharuccha and PentyWelcoming the two gorgeous and lovely ladies Nushrratt DianaPenty to the Selfiee family Sit tight because this will be one hell of a ride the tweet readBharuccha who had earlier worked with Johar in his production Ajeeb Daastaans said she was thrilled to join the castAll smiles always when surrounded with the best energy Super excited to join the team of Selfiee the 36-year-old actor wrotePenty who currently stars in Dulquer Salmaans Salute said she was super excited to hop onto this mad rideThe original Malayalam movie was directed by Lal Jr from a script by Sachy It revolved around a superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran famous for his driving skills who loses his licenceThe issue however spins out of control after he locks horns with a motor inspector Suraj Venjaramoodu who happens to be a fan of the actorSelfiee is produced by Dharma Productions and Kumars Cape of Good Films along with Sukumarans Prithviraj Productions and Magic Frames PTI JUR BK BK