It came after a right-wing group threatened to attack cinemas screening his latest movie starring Pakistani actor Fawad Khan.
Anti-Pakistan sentiment has grown after a militant attack killed 18 soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.
Social media is divided over Johar's statement and what it says about India.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a regional right-wing party, has vowed that it will not allow the movie to be screened.
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The cadres of the party have traditionally resorted to violence to fulfil their demands, and have threatened other actors in the past, including Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
A number of small cinema hall owners fear violence and have said that they will not screen Johar's new film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (Difficulties of the heart).
Johar appealed to the MNS to allow the film to be released, and said, "for me my country comes first. Nothing else matters but my country. I always felt that the best way to express your patriotism is through love and that's all I always tried to do through my work, and my cinema."
He added that "over 300 Indian people in my crew have put their blood, sweat and tears in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and I don't think it is fair to them to face any kind of turbulence on account of other fellow Indians".
The video statement has caused a lot of chatter on social media and in the Indian media, with many condemning the pressure put on Johar and pointing out that it signalled a worrying trend in India to wear your nationalism on your sleeve.
A statement by popular Bollywood director Karan Johar promising not to work with Pakistani actors in the future has gone viral in India.