Filmmaker Karan Johar calls trial shows 'the worst'

Filmmaker Karan Johar expressed his frustration with the industry practice of hosting ‘trial shows’ ahead of releases and said that he always promises himself to not fall into this trap but is never able to avoid it. In an interview, he recalled horror stories from trial shows, as recently as the one he organised for his latest film, ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’.

In a humorous speech at the ‘Galatta Plus’ year-end roundtable, Karan listed all the different kinds of reactions that he has become accustomed to at preview screenings and that they’re all useless because he’s usually too stressed out at the time for honest feedback. “I’m sorry to say, the hatred, sometimes very strongly, comes from within the industry,” he said.

“Those trial shows are the worst. I don’t know why we have them. The most ‘thanda’ reaction will come from those screenings. Here, the industry comes and sits on a high horse. Some will walk out of a screening and give that look, like ‘well done’. Say something worthwhile at least? Then there’s a very annoying section of people who’ll come and say, ‘Can I be honest?’ No, you can’t! My film is releasing tomorrow, praise me and go home. But they’ll take you aside and tell you what’s wrong with your film one day before release,” he explained.

Karan said that he repeatedly falls into this trap, film after film. “The industry will break your film into first half and second half, but the audience doesn’t do that. This is a trade phenomenon. Nobody in the audience breaks a film into halves and then the numbers start circulating. But how do you know? Are you a box office analyst? The saddest part of it all is, each time I fall prey to it because I am a filmmaker seeking validation, those screenings are traumatic.”

Karan wasn’t finished: “The worst is that interval silence. They meet you, but they say nothing. Or there are the ones who’ll say, ‘I’ll speak to you later’. Who are you, Steven Spielberg, that I should wait for the end? I’ve been to so many screenings and I want to kill myself because I’m doing this to myself.”