Karan Johar breaks silence on Dharma stake sale to Adar Poonawalla: ‘It wasn’t financial distress, but…’

Veteran Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar said that he was not compelled to sell a 50% stake in his production company, Dharma Productions, because it was facing financial difficulties. “The reason for selling my stake in the company was absolutely not because I needed money, or it became necessary,” Johar said in a conversation with podcaster Raj Shamani.

According to Johar, he sold half of his stake in the company to fuel the next phase of growth at Dharma Productions. “I wanted our company to grow manifold. I wanted to start a distribution arm, which I started immediately (after the deal). I have hired Bhumika Tiwari to head that division. Eventually, I want to start my music label,” he explained. In February this year, Bhumika Tiwari was appointed as the head of content acquisition and film distribution (worldwide).

In 2024, Johar sold a 50% stake in Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment to Adar Poonawalla-led Serene Productions, in exchange for an infusion of ₹1,000 crore in the company. Johar also said that he wants to make films that are entirely funded by Dharma Productions, so that it makes all the profit that is generated from those films. He had production deals with UTV and Fox Star.

“I am a nascent film producer. The brand that I have created is only 15 years old. It’s only from 2008 when I became a multi-film producer,” he explained, adding that he wanted to leverage the equity of the brand that he built to enable the next growth phase, where he is not dependent on funding and does not need to collaborate with other studios.

The 52-year-old producer also conceded that while his late father was adored in the industry—and had a “tremendous amount of goodwill”—the money only came after 1998, when Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was released. “Before Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was released, my father had delivered a spate of five films. I had only inherited goodwill from my father,” he said. “It was at that point when Dharma Productions became a force to be reckoned with.”

Johar also conceded that it would have taken him another five–seven years to grow organically. “I needed the money, and I am happy with my partnership with Adar (Poonawalla). He is an amazingly instinctive person. However, I feel accountable for the first time in my life, because it is someone else’s money. I must make my company profitable,” he said. The filmmaker is also bullish about the upcoming releases, which are produced by the company.