'Bollywood should stop doing PR': Karan Johar urges actors to 'let their work speak for themselves'

Karan Johar has stirred conversation by calling out the film industry’s growing dependence on PR tactics. Recently, he criticised the heavy use of paid promotions while reacting to a question that mentioned actors such as Janhvi Kapoor and Shanaya Kapoor. He warned against what he labelled “method marketing” and emphasised that artists should focus on their work rather than manufactured public image.Talking to The Week, the filmmaker said, "I think Bollywood should stop doing PR. It will be much better. They should let their achievement speak for itself because unfortunately all of the PR is now paid PR. If you want to say 'You are looking gorgeous', you just have to pay. If you want to say that you are the best actor on planet Earth, you have to pay. So I think we are on over drive mode when it comes to PR. So whether they are doing method marketing or not is secondary. They should stop marketing themselves and let their work speak for themselves. I don't mean the people you are talking about I mean everyone in general. Because I think PR's becoming into overdrive mode. There's a certain way of doing it. Publicity, marketing- these are very important work categories and this should be treated in that specific way."Johar further said, "Now everything is available at a price and that is something that could be deeply upsetting because then you really can't gauge what's connecting and what's now. Are people liking it or are paid to like it? I don't know, I can't tell half the time. Its confusing me because even I am sometimes paying for it."On the professional front, Karan Johar also provided an update on his popular talk show, ‘Koffee With Karan’. The ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ director revealed that Season 9 is likely to premiere around Diwali 2026.