Karan Johar speaks up on the North-South divide in the wake of the success of RRR, KGF 2, and Pushpa

On Sunday, Karan Johar unveiled the trailer for Dharma Productions' next film, Jug Jugg Jeeyo, directed by Raj Mehta. In Mumbai, he was joined by the film's main cast, which included Anil Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, and Kiara Advani for the trailer launch event.

Karan Johar, one of the presenters of India's first pan-India successes, Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017), offered his views on the ongoing debate between Bollywood and the south Indian film industry.

He claimed that the tremendous success of south films like RRR (2022), KGF: Chapter 2 (2022), and Pushpa (2021) has "raised the bar for Indian films" and pushed the industry to aim higher, adding that successful films in several languages only help Indian cinema as a whole.

The filmmaker said, “We can say with a lot of pride that we are a part of Indian cinema. We are proud of RRR, KGF, and Pushpa which did phenomenal business. These films have raised the bar of Indian films, telling us that our standards can be so massive and we can reach so far ahead.”

Johar concluded by expressing his desire for Jug Jugg Jeeyo to continue its winning streak in Bollywood. “Gangubai (Kathiawadi) did so well, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 took such a huge opening. So, we just wish that Jug Jugg Jeeyo should also make it to that list. However, we want every regional film to do well. We don't want any language to be compared with each other," said the director.