Filmmaker Karan Johar says that he doesn’t think any actor from today’s generation will ever be able to enjoy the kind of stardom Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan has. Karan added that this generation may have “the most brilliant artistes” but lack the aura and magic that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has.
“The magnetism, the aura, the mystery, I don’t think this generation has it,” Karan told Film Companion. “When I was at a party, and Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Mr Dilip Kumar walked in, Mr Shah Rukh Khan walked in, there were heads turning everywhere, I have seen it. That aura, everybody feeling their presence, that was power, that was stardom. That was glory.”
Karan also feels the reason why it’s not possible for today’s actors to gain that kind of stardom is that they are easily accessible and there’s no mystery around any celebrity anymore.
He said, “Today, everybody is much easier, more casual, more accessible, more available. I know which gym you go to, which Pilates class you go to, I know what you eat, I know who you meet, I know everything about you, how can there be any mystery about you?”
Further elaborating his point, Karan said, “When Shah Rukh Khan came to my (birthday) party, you could feel the thumping energy of the younger generation… If he walked in right now, you would feel his energy even if you didn’t see him. You can sense Shah Rukh. He was the only one who didn’t walk the red carpet and came from the other side at my party. So I could see that from the younger movie actors, maybe from as young as Ananya Panday, right up to his peers, everybody felt that aura.”
