Suhana is ‘terrific’, Aryan a ‘rare personality’ who works 20 hours: Karan Johar defends star kids amid nepotism debate | Bollywood-OxBig News Network

Karan Johar talks about star kids and outsiders

He said that star kids “get opportunities by virtue of their foot in the door”, but added that “eventually aap hunar se muqabla nahi karsakte (you can’t compete with talent).” He shared that “technically nepo kids” Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor are “incredible talents” who work very hard.

Karan said that Shah Rukh and Amitabh Bachchan are “big journey of outsiders” but there are “great insiders who have done great work”. He said that the one common factor among people who are doing well is talent. The filmmaker reiterated that if a person is “talentedly consistent” only then can they move forward. Talking about those artists who aren’t successful despite being talented, Karan blamed it on “taqdeer (fate)”.

Karan showers parties on Suhana, Aryan

The filmmaker showered praises on “terrific talent” Suhana Khan. He also confirmed that she will star in King with Shah Rukh. “I still feel very strongly that people will see Suhana Khan eventually. I have seen her as a student, I’ve seen Suhana’s student films. I’ve seen the work she has put into her craft. I feel when people realise the artist inside her, she is doing a film with her father, King. I’m glad that the world will see that on a large scale that Suhana is a terrific talent. She’s going to do phenomenally well. I’m not saying this because she is my kid. I’m saying because I believe that there is a massive solid artist in Suhana Khan,” he said.

Karan said that Aryan Khan is hard-working and has a “rare personality type”. He said, “I have a strong belief in Aryan Khan’s directorial talent. I don’t want to say anything about it because he is very private, but all I’ll say is watch out. If there’s a king, there will be a prince…He has an individualistic voice as a director. You expect Shah Rukh Khan ka beta hai yeh hoga woh hoga, kuch nahi, bilkul apna banda hai woh. Quietly apna kaam karta hai woh (You expect him to do certain things since he is Shah Rukh Khan’s son, but no, he is on his own. He quietly does his work). He doesn’t carry the baggage of his father, he doesn’t carry the baggage of his legacy. He is a hard-working boy, he works for 20 hours…He is a rare personality type.”

About Aryan, Suhana’s new projects

Aryan’s directorial debut is a series on Netflix titled The Ba***ds of Bollywood. Co-created by Bilal Siddiqi and Manav Chauhan and produced by Aryan’s mother, Gauri Khan, the show was announced earlier this year. Suhana made her Bollywood debut with Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies. Fans will see Suhana with Shah Rukh and Abhishek Bachchan in Siddharth Anand’s King. The movie will release globally in 2026.