Filmmakers today lack passion, vision: Karan Johar

Director-producer Karan Johar, who has made many hit films, feels that filmmakers today lack the passion and the vision that great yesteryears’ directors had.

“We solely lack the passion. I don’t think we have the passion, the vision and the madness yesteryear filmmakers had. I think we (the current lot of filmmakers) are too pragmatic, too practical, too commercial and too much focus on the dynamics of the movie industry.”

“We are no longer passionate people. We don’t have that anymore,” Johar told reporters here.

The 38-year-old filmmaker shared his thoughts during an event to launch the “The Dialogue of Pyaasa”, a book that immortalises the dialogues and heartwarming songs of legendary actor-director Guru Dutt’s 1957 cinematic masterpiece “Pyaasa”.

The book has been compiled by author Nasreen Munni Kabir and is available in Hindi, English and Urdu.

Johar, who is a self-proclaimed fan of Guru Dutt’s films was elated to be part of the launch event.

“It’s truly an honour and a pleasure to be associated with this genius, this man, this craftsman (Guru Dutt),” he said.

“I was not a normal child in my generation. Everyone, when I was growing up, was watching a whole lot of different cinema. I don’t know whether its karmic or it’s my destiny, but I grew up watching a lot of the masters’s movies.”

“So I grew up on Bimal Roy, vintage Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt. My mother used to like listening to Guru Dutt’s music and that what drew me towards his movies and at a very young age, it left an indelible mark in my head space. Even till today, some of those images and visuals keep coming back to me and I haven’t been able to emulate even one of them,” Johar added.

So does he feel “Pyaasa” should be remade?

“Remaking is a fashion trend nowadays. I’m doing it myself but some films should not be touched because that’s an insult to them. ‘Pyaasa’ is a film like that. I think it should be kept like the way it is,” said Johar, who is now remaking “Agneepath”.