Before Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, every Karan Johar film ranked from worst to best

You love him, hate him but you can't ignore Karan Johar and his indomitable influence on Indian cinema. He may have produced more films than directed them in his 25 years in the film industry, but Johar's films have over the years become a movement of sorts, changed the way Hindi cinema is perceived the world over and managed to set trends like no other filmmaker had in the past two decades or more.

In his career as a filmmaker and producer, Johar has been accused of being nepotistic, of creating a superfluous world in his films which set unrealistic standards in society, and for never being able to make cinema on relevant issues. But there is no denying that Johar always manages to create the perfect dream world that seems attainable to the general public yet it never is. Johar understands the business of cinema well and always knows where to put his money. Over the years, he has launched some of the most prominent names in acting and direction in Hindi cinema, proving that he understands talent and knows what and who will work. 

In 25 years in the film industry, Johar has directed only 10 films - including his upcoming Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Of the 10, three have been part of anthologies. That being said, one can safely state that almost each of Johar's films becomes a talking point after it releases. 

A day before his 10th film hits theatres, we ranked all his directorial ventures - from worst to best. 

9- Student Of The Year- Karan Johar had once admitted that Student Of The Year was made perhaps to launch new faces in Bollywood. The film did serve the purpose as it gave us the incredibly talented Alia Bhatt, who in over a decade has proved how good an actor she is. The film also gave us Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, who have created their own space in Bollywood. But when one looks at SOTY, it really is a very superfluous remake of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - which itself was not the best film in terms of storytelling. A remake of multiple Hollywood high school dramas, SOTY was a long dragged affair that felt out of place even when it had released in 2012. Thank god, it had Alia Bhatt though, who in due course of time became the force that she is now. 

8-Kuch Kuch Hota Hai- Johar's first film was a Hindi version of the Archies back in the day. When the film was released, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji, it was a rage. Considered one of the biggest hits of the filmmaker's career, the film was a classic for a generation that grew up on SRK's staple diet of love stories. Yet, years later when you re-watch the film, you realise how superfluous and flimsy the plot was. The depiction of the two female leads, the screenplay, the process in which the lead couple falls in love were all very questionable and if made in today's time - would infuriate too many people instead of being loved. 

7-Ghost Stories- Another anthology where Johar again was out of his comfort zone creating a horror story. Of course, the film featuring Mrunal Thakur and Avinash Tiwari in the lead, had its usual Johar trapping with opulant sets, newly married couple in a big bungalow but it also had the new bride (Thakur) discovering that something is amiss in her new home with her husband - who till the wedding night- seemed like her dream man. Johar's attempt at the genre did not create an impression - as much as the other shorts in the anthology did and the story fell to the usual Johar stereotypes and did not provide the thrills required in the horror story. 

6-Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- Some say Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is Karan Johar's most personal film to date. The film deals with the complexities that come along with falling in love. Of sacrifices one makes in love, of unrequitted love. Weeks ahead of the film's release, it was plagued with controversy over the casting of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan in a cameo role for which Johar had to personally shoot an apology video and urge the public to not ban the film because of his special appearance. The film has Ranbir Kapoor playing Ayan, a man-child (like he does in most of his films) falling in love with the impulsive Alizeh (Anushka Sharma) who is in love with someone else. The film's treatment of unrequitted love appeared slightly problematic but Aishwarya Rai, who made a  comeback of sorts with the film after a long gap, was a revelation in a role as a mysterious poetess. 

5-Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham- I don't think even Johar had realised he was making a cult film when he made Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Featuring superstars of three different generations - Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan - the family drama ran on the theme of loving one's parents irrespective of their flaws and egos. But it was the depiction of Poo played by Kareena Kapoor that became a rage. From her styling, to her dialogues to the character itself, Kapoor literally stole the limelight in the film that had veterans playing pivotal roles. The film has over the years attained a cult status for its humour not so much for its drama. 

4-Lust Stories- How many filmmakers in India talk about female sexuality? Hardly a handful. Which is why anthology Lust Stories was such a winner. It had four distinct stories of women exploring their sexual urges. Johar's short featured Kiara Advani and Vicky Kaushal in the lead where Kiara played a new bride who is unable to find sexual satisfaction from her husband - who literally comes in five thrusts every night. Quirky and semi-meta (specially the hillarious climax) the film took a snide jab at Indian men and their preconvceived notions on sex and their machismo. 

3- My Name Is Khan- Johar's most political film to date, My Name Is Khan received mixed reviews when it had released. The film had Shah Rukh Khan playing Rizwan Khan, an autistic Muslim who sets out on a journey across the United States to meet the US President to prove that he is not a terrorist. The film was set in the backdrop of 9/11 when Islamophobia was rampant in the country. Khan embarks on a journey after Mandira Rathod (Kajol), his Hindu wife, suffers from Islamophobic discrimination after the September 11 attacks. While many found the film stretched and incoherent, it was Khan's portrayal as Rizwan Khan that won hearts. Even though topical, the story was difficult to implement on screen, but Johar deftly handled the plot with great sensitivity. 

2- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna- The film, like most of Johar's movies, boasted of a big star cast that included Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan. On the surface, the film looked like a quintessential love story that involved four individuals, but it actually deftly handled adultery and unhappy marriages. Khan, the pin-up hero for Bollywood romances for decades, played a cynical man who was not just unhappy in life but also jealous of his wife's success and ventured out to have an illicit affair with an equally unhappy woman played by Rani Mukerji. While adultery has been dealt by many makers in Indian cinema before, it was Johar's treatment that made the film special. 

1- Bombay Talkies- Johar's most experimental and boldest film to date explored homosexuality in an anthology that celebrated 100 years of Indian cinema. Johar's short had Rani Mukerji and Randeep Hooda playing a modern, ambitious couple whose marriage gets disrupted when Avinash played by Saqib Saleem enters their life. The couple soon realises that they have been living a life full of lies and how Avinash plays a catalyst in bringing their true self out forms the rest of the story. The film had released in theatres in 2013, a time when Bollywood was still not accustomed to talk of homosexuality so openly in its commercial films. Johar, who till then had stuck to formula love stories, delivered a bold, out of the box story that addressed infidelity, homophobia and more. The film also featured a same-sex kissing scene - a tall order for a commercial Hindi film at any given point of time. What made the film extra special was that it had Johar, a very commercial film director known for extravagant sets and song-and-dance sequences in films, dealing with a topic like homosexuality with such grace and sensitivity. 

 

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.