India, April 27 -- Filmmaker Karan Johar has opened up about the industry's growing obsession with hyper-masculine storytelling, calling out what he describes as a phase dominated by "big alpha" energy and testosterone-heavy narratives, with films like Animal (2023) and Dhurandhar franchise. Karan observed that theatrical releases today are largely driven by high-octane, male-centric narratives, where aggression and machismo take centre stage. Highlighting Bollywood's 'herd mentality', he told The Week, "If one film works in a certain zone, there will be 10 more. So you will see 10 more high-octane testosterone movies where men are just walking in slow motion for no reason... They'll all have beards and they will all smoke. Apparently, that's what women like to watch, or at least, that's what men think." He also reflected on the backlash he faced while portraying a different kind of masculinity through actor Ranveer Singh's character in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023). "I had a barrage of mainstream audiences who asked, 'How could you depict a man like that?' And I'm like, if I'm going to focus my attention on a certain audience and not have conviction, then why am I here? I am a born feminist and will always tell a feminist story." HTC...