Karan Johar finally breaks silence on partnering with Adar Poonawalla for Rs 1000 crore: 'In 2023, we realised we need to...'

In 2024, Karan Johar sold 50 per cent stake of his production house - Dharma Productions to Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India for Rs 1000 crore. The filmmaker recently spoke about this decision and shared that they needed funds for the growth of the company.

“I didn’t want to do collaborative projects so that all the profitability stays with Dharma Productions. Our biggest hits at that time all had partners because we couldn’t finance those films on our own ability, because we were new,” Karan told Raj Shamani on his YouTube channel.

Talking about his late father Yash Johar’s legacy, he shared, “Those who say nepotism, they don’t know my history. I inherited goodwill from my father but not money. Before Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, we had 5 flops in a row.” Karan recalled that it was his film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai that resurrected Dharma Productions. “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s release in 1998 marked the beginning of Dharma Productions as a strong company. What I had was my father’s goodwill and his tremendous belief. He had tremendous goodwill, he was loved a lot but he didn’t see success.”

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KJo also revealed how his friend Apoorva Mehta came to his rescue after his father’s demise. “After my dad passed away in 2004, I had to take the company further and I couldn’t have done it without Apoorva Mehta (CEO of Dharma Productions). He was my best friend in school and he left his entire life in London and overnight moved back to Mumbai. We have had our own journey. Till date my business acumen is zero but instinct is strong. He takes care of the business part, I am the creative person,” said the filmmaker.

Revealing the reason of selling stakes to Poonawalla, Johar said, “In 2023, we realised we need to leverage and grow. In our business to grow organically would have taken me another 5-7 years. I needed the fund to grow and today, I am happy with my partnership with Adar. He is an amazing human being and his instincts are very strong. I feel accountable because this is somebody else’s money. I need to get success and make my company profitable.”