Karan Johar rejected superstars for Kill: They asked me for Rs 40 crore, which is the budget of the film

Karan Johar debated the value of superstars in cinema today.

Lakshya in Kill

Karan Johar surprised many with his movie Kill which featured names like Raghav Juyal and Lakshya. The filmmaker, known for collaborating with superstars, had approached a few names even for the movie. However, he had to reject them since these stars asked for Rs 40 crore, which is the budget of the film. Karan dissed the superstar culture at a recently held roundtable. Here’s everything he said…

Superstars not a reason for film to open: Karan Johar

"Superstars are no longer a reason for a film to open," Karan told The Hollywood Reporter in a roundtable, adding that everybody should look at their renumeration (salaries). Zoya Akhtar stated out loud that they have to stop paying the amount demanded. Karan then revealed that he has been refusing actors over their huge salaries.

Also read: People who loved Laapataa Ladies did not come to theatres, 12th Fail a different story: Karan Johar

Superstars demanded Rs 40 crore, which was my budget for Kill: Karan Johar

Karan then spoke about approaching stars for his film Kill, but they asked him the money that the budget was for. The budget for the film was Rs. 40 crores and the stars would demand that kind of salary. He then spoke about casting 'outsider' Lakshya in the movie. The filmmaker complained that nobody praised him for the efforts.

Crew’s salary not looked at, no matter their work: Karan Johar

Karan further argued that there are people who do not want to pay the crew more. “There is an editor who is magical – he can change the narrative of your film – but you do not want to pay him. You want to pay an actor who is not even bringing the numbers now,” he shared.

Also read: Karan Johar to make his big budget web series directorial debut for Netflix, details inside

Karan Johar’s upcoming film

Karan Johar has co-produced Jigra along with Alia Bhatt. The movie features Alia and Vedang Raina in the lead roles. The latter makes his debut with the film. He plays the role of Alia Bhatt’s brother. Jigra will release in theatres on October 11, and Alia has been actively promoting the film on The Kapil Sharma Show and now, on Khatron Ke Khiladi's grand finale.

The filmmaker is also working on numerous other movies, including Dhadak 2, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, The Bull and Dostana 2. Among his latest releases is Ananya Panday’s Call Me Bae, a series streaming on Prime Video.

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