‘You can sense Shah Rukh’: Karan Johar says today’s actors lack that aura that Shah Rukh Khan has

New Delhi: Filmmaker Karan Johar who recently celebrated his 50th birthday has been in the Bollywood industry for many years, dealing with heroes of the 90s as well as the 00s. However, this time he thinks that the actors from this generation will never be able to enjoy the stardom that Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have experienced. Besides, he added that this generation may have “the most brilliant artistes” but lack the aura and magic that superstar Shah Rukh Khan bears.

In an interview with Film Companion, Karan Johar stated, “The magnetism, the aura, the mystery, I don’t think this generation has it.” He further added, “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.”

According to Karan, the reason he feels that it is not possible to attain that kind of stardom by today’s actors is because they are easily accessible and there’s no mystery around any celebrity anymore.

“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?” he said.

Further, elaborating he stated, “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.”