Karan Johar feels that Bollywood has a ‘director crisis’ where it tries to emulate the style of South Indian films by reciprocating mass and action but fails to do so. He said that directors should focus on what they know best like Mohit Suri, who brought back the old-school Bollywood romance with Saiyaara.

During a conversation with Suchin Mehrotra on The Streaming Show Podcast, Karan was asked if Bollywood has a ‘director crisis’ when it comes to big-budget films. He said, “It is a director crisis. You can't think of more than a name or two. There isn't anyone, because that entire generation spent their time watching a different kind of Hindi cinema, nurtured on a different kind of cinema. Globalisation, the Shah Rukh Khan phenomenon, stories shot outside the country, they love all that, but haven't been able to do that front-footed testosterone cinema. They have never known it. Now, they can't learn it. So, they emulate it and fall flat on their face."

Karan said there are no directors in Bollywood to mount films similar to those made in South. “So, if we can't, then thank God for Saiyaara. This, we can do. When I met Mohit Suri, he told me that all the filmmakers from the south called him, and it was so gratifying to know, because we are the ones calling them. We are always picking up the phone, telling them how incredible their films are. We do one thing well, so let's do that. Let's go back to our storytelling," he said.

Saiyaara, starring newcomers, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda did wonders at the box office, turning out to be the second-highest grossing film of the year after Chhaava.

Meanwhile, Karan’s last directorial, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani released in 2023. It starred Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead and turned out to be a success at the box office.