Business Tycoon Buys 50% Stake In Dharma Productions

Karan Johar owns the film production company Dharma Productions

Dharma Productions is one of India’s and Bollywood’s major production houses. Dharma Productions has produced and delivered some of the most iconic Indian films such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Dostana, My Name Is Khan, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Wake Up Sid, Raazi, Agneepath, Student of the Year, Yeh Jaawani Hai Deewani, 2 States and many more. The Hindi production company was founded by Yash Johar and today it is led by his son Karan Johar and CEO Apoorva Mehta. In a surprising twist and turns, Karan Johar has sold a 50% stake in his production company to a friend.

Adar Poonawalla buys Dharma Productions

Adar Poonawalla is a business tycoon and one of India’s richest men. He is the CEO of Serum Institute of India a multinational Pharma company. The company was founded by his father Cyrus Poonawalla. Serum Institute of India is a worldwide renowned pharma company that also founded the COVID-19 vaccine.

Adar Poonawalla and his wife Natasha Poonawalla are friends with many influential Bollywood stars. They are part of Bollywood’s biggest circle and group.

Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions is a successful production company. But it was going through a bit of a financial crisis. The last many films of Karan Johar have failed to perform well at the box office. But Dharma Productions is still a successful and one of the biggest production companies of Bollywood.

Adar Poonawalla who is a close friend of Karan Johar has bought a 50% stake in Dharma Productions for 1000 crores. Adar and Karan together have assured to produce and deliver several wonderful stories, films, and shows in several languages.

Previously it was reported that Business Tycoons and a few of the richest persons in India such as Mukesh Ambani and Sanjiv Goenka were interested in buying a stake in Dharma Productions. Mukesh Ambani and Sanjiv Goenka already own several movie production companies. But it is Karan Johar’s dear friend Adar Poonawala who has come to his rescue

The last commercially successful film of Dharma Productions was Sooryavanshi released in 2021 following the pandemic. Since 2021, many films of Dharma Productions have performed decent at the box office or have failed to make money. Films such as Gehraiyaan, Jug Jug Jeeyo, Liger, Brahmastra, Selfiee, Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani, Kill, Yodha, Bad News, and Mr and Mrs Mahi.

Karan Johar invested over 100 crores in the 2023 film ‘Selfie’ starring Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi. It was a box office bomb on its opening day itself despite receiving encouraging reviews from critics.

Karan Johar invested over 150 crores for the Pan-India film titled ‘Liger’. It starred Vijay Deverkonda and Ananya Pandey in the lead roles. The film was released in several languages such as Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Liger received negative reviews and emerged as a box office disaster.

Even Karan Johar and Dharma Productions’ latest high-budget action film Jigra has flopped at the box office. The film led by Alia Bhatt was one of the most awaited films of the year. The film received mixed to negative reviews.

Yash Raj Films (YRF), T-Series (Bhushan Kumar), and Dharma Productions (Karan Johar) are three of the biggest movie production companies in Bollywood.

Yash Raj Films and T-Series have had several big successes in recent years. They have constantly delivered high-grossing films and they have minted huge profits. But Dharma Productions is struggling to have a major commercially successful film.

The net worth of Karan Johar is over 4000 crores. But it is his company that is going through difficult financial crises.

Upcoming Films of Dharma Productions

The next produced film by Dharma Productions is Shankara. It is a periodic film starring Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan, and Ananya Pandey. The film is set to release between March – April. Dharma Productions is also producing a romantic comedy film titled Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. The film stars Varun Dhawan, Jhanvi Kapoor, Rohit Saraf, and Sanya Malhotra among others.

Also, Karan Johar’s high-budget action film with Salman Khan has been shelved. The producer was hoping to collaborate with Salman Khan for a military action film titled The Bull. But now according to the sources that movie has been shelved too and Karan Johar has no plans of making it in the future.

Now only Shahrukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Salman Khan can save Dharma Productions. Karan Johar and Adar Poonawala would hope to produce a large scale and high budget action with any one of the stars. The stardom of Shahrukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Salman Khan is colossal and they have the competence to bring the audience into theatres.

Also, Karan Johar should co-produce Shahrukh Khan’s upcoming massive action thriller film titled ‘King’. The buzz of King is on another level. It surely seems like a 1000+ crore worldwide grosser.

Karan Johar has also launched Dharmatic Entertainment, a new subsidiary of Dharma Productions.

Dharmatic Entertainment would focus on producing and providing digital films and shows for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hotstar. Dharmatic Entertainment delivered over ten films and Television shows in 2024. But, Dharmatic Entertainment is yet to become a profitable venture.

Ending the show with a piece of good news, Karan Johar is returning with another season of ‘Koffee With Karan’. Koffee With Karan is a talk show where Karan Johar invites popular faces from the film, fashion, and sports industries. It is the biggest and most popular talk show in India.