Amid a string of disappointing box office results for his production house, filmmaker Karan Johar has made a heartfelt public appeal for kindness and 'grace' in the film industry. The plea comes as his latest release, 'Tu Mera Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri' starring Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday, struggles to find an audience.
A Difficult Year for Dharma Productions
The year 2025 has proven challenging for Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. While the banner's film 'Homebound' earned an Oscar shortlist nomination, commercial success has been elusive. Theatrical releases like 'Kesari Chapter 2', 'Dhadak 2', and 'Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari' failed to make a significant mark. The latest casualty is the romantic comedy 'Tu Mera Main Tera', which opened to mediocre reviews and poor collections, especially in the shadow of the blockbuster wave created by the film 'Dhurandhar'.
Karan Johar's Instagram Plea: 'Have We Lost the Grace?'
Taking to Instagram, Johar shared a lengthy note questioning the current culture of schadenfreude. "Grace… Is this now an alien phenomenon?" he began. "Have we as a race completely lost our ability to be good old fashioned graceful?" He extended his query to everyday interactions and social media behaviour, asking if people have lost the grace to reply to messages properly.
His core message was a call for a more empathetic industry and online space. "Are we not able to celebrate other people's successes and can we stop celebrating their failures?" Johar wrote. He urged people to praise wholeheartedly and criticise without bias or rage. "Can we stop making social media a dumping ground of our own failings, shortcomings or inner darkness… Can we go back to just being kind at all times?" he concluded.
Context: Praise for Rivals and Past Criticism
Johar's note gains context from his recent, effusive praise for the successful film 'Dhurandhar'. At a book launch, he admitted the film made him question his own craft, calling it a positive experience. "I was, like, blown away by Dhurandhar... It made me question my ability as a filmmaker, and that's always a good thing for me," he stated.
This is not the first time in 2025 that Johar has addressed negative trends. Earlier, he spoke about the backlash against his film 'Nadaaniyan', which marked Ibrahim Ali Khan's debut. He observed that bashing the film became a "fashion of that moment," with creators making multiple videos to gain views, calling it a celebration of negativity.
The underperformance of 'Tu Mera Main Tera' is particularly notable as Kartik Aaryan had revealed the film was initially slated for a Valentine's Day 2026 release but was preponed to Christmas 2025. The move, however, did not yield the desired commercial result, capping off a tough year for one of Bollywood's most prominent production houses.
