Culture cannot be imposed on others, says Karan Johar

DAVOS: Bollywood actor and director Karan Johar on Wednesday said bearing other's intolerance and being patient about it "can be misconstrued as validation".

Johar was responding to Swedish Minister of Culture and Democracy Alice Bah Kunke's comment — that "one needs to be very, very tolerant" in politics — during a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum taking place in Switzerland.

The panel — which contemplated whether "the spread of so-called 'culture wars'" could be avoided — comprised American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild, renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Kuhnke.

Noting that art is not supposed to have boundaries, Johar said a person cannot enforce culture on others, the Economic Times reported.

"Art should not have boundaries but then culture and patriotism is thrown at the artists," the actor explained, referring to the time he was called a 'non-Indian' for casting a Pakistani actor in a film.

"You cannot enforce culture or imbibe it. There are immense economic and social problems, but sometimes the main papers and politicians don't talk about them because they are focused on a film.

"It's empowering to the film industry, but it's ridiculous," he said.

Among the audience were Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood's 'romance king' Shah Rukh Khan, and businessman Mukesh Ambani.