KJo:There was enormous negativity outside, & celebration.....

Karan Johar, who made his acting debut with Anurag Kashyap's 'Bombay Velvet', talked to a leading daily about the film's not doing as well as was expected at the box-office and also about the number game prevailent today in Bollywood as such.

When asked about the importance of numbers when discussing a film, Karan stated that cinema has always been about the balance between art and commerce and that these two along with the external workings of filmmaking have always been sectionalised in mainstream cinema. He explained how commerce is the "prerogative of distributors, of producers" but as the powers of the media have increased, the box office has become "a huge talking point" and that it has suddenly become a barometer to judge a film.

He then went on to state that all films have different features and different box office values and that it is wrong to compare them and said that even if 'Bombay Velvet' was "a debacle, a disaster", why would it mean that the audience stay aways from it because they of that.

He further stressed on how shocked he was when he heard people discussing the possible box office numbers of 'Bombay Velvet'. When asked about whether this obsession with numbers adversely affected the film, Karan said,

"Bombay Velvet was attacked relentlessly for three days after its release. I was like, Can you worry about the Nepal earthquake? About bad governance or economic policy? Can you just leave Bombay Velvet alone, please?' There are so many national and political issues to worry about. Why would you talk about the box-office expectation of a film at the dinner table?"

He also discussed how the obsession with box office adversely affects filmmakers, specially in light of the recent speculation of Anurag Kashyap moving to Paris. Karan said,

"That speculation was triggered by a report that said Anurag was considering taking a break and moving to Paris for a while. If we lose a filmmaker like Anurag, we will lose good content in mainstream cinema."

He went on to reveal that there was no blame game in the Bombay Velvet team following the film's release. He also said that the matter was dealt with great dignity,

"There was great dignity behind the scenes, internally in the unit. There was no dignity externally. There was enormous negativity outside, and a celebration of failure."

However Karan maintained that 2015 so far has been one of victory for the audience with films like 'Piku', 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' and 'Badlapur' doing well.