Karan Johar has been making headlines, and not for the right reasons.
People have been trolling his recent film Nadaaniyan and comparing it to previous Dharma projects like Student of the Year, Call Me Bae, and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, all of which also attempted to portray the younger generation.
Also Read – Bollywood’s Latest Obsession: Getting Annoying?
Karan Johar is known for making films with larger-than-life themes that romanticize everything, giving them a dreamy touch.
After all, no journalist dresses like Alia Bhatt did in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, and no one lands a journalism job because of a trending video like Bae did.
Also Read – Star With 3 Potential Hits in 2025: All Sequels
Yet, we still buy into the fantasy and enjoy the fluff-filled experience.
However, with Nadaaniyan, even when fans set aside logic and reason, the film still wasn’t entertaining.
Also Read – Star Son Grabs Attention: Mix of Hrithik & Ranbir?
Instead of adding just a touch of fluff, the entire project felt like fluff, so much so that it was evident no one took it seriously enough to put in even average effort.
The film mostly feels like a brainless romance between two people with no chemistry, set in a college for rich kids in Delhi that reeks of Gen Z-ness as perceived through the uneducated eyes of millennials, with comedy that fails to make anyone laugh.
Overall, it was just a two-hour cringe-fest, with a few bearable performances from senior actors.
In recent months, Karan Johar has appeared in interviews stating that Bollywood is in decline and that only content-driven films can save it.
He has repeatedly spoken about the importance of writers and how treating them well is crucial to a film’s success.
However, Nadaaniyan contradicts his statements, as it seems to be a film that put the least effort into writing.
The entire movie feels like a first or second draft- disjointed and underdeveloped.
Instead of preaching about good writing, if Karan Johar had actually applied it to Nadaaniyan, maybe it could have saved the story, at least a little.
