Dharma Productions

History

1980–1998

The company's first production was Raj Khosla's Dostana (1980), starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, and Zeenat Aman. The film was one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of the year.

The company then went on to produce Duniya (1984) and Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987), neither of which performed well at the box office. This was followed by Agneepath (1990), which did not emerge as a commercial success at that time but was later regarded as a cult film. It also won a National Film Award for its lead actor, Amitabh Bachchan. The company's next two films, Gumrah (1993) and Duplicate (1998), which were both directed by Mahesh Bhatt, met with moderate success at the box office.

1998–2009

In 1998, the same year as Duplicate, Dharma Productions also released the romantic comedy-drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the directorial debut of Karan Johar, the son of Yash Johar, owner of the production company. The film, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, and Salman Khan, proved to be a phenomenal success, and this opened a whole new chapter in the history of the company. The film won several awards, including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the Filmfare Award for Best Film.

The company's next film was Karan Johar's family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), featuring an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor. This was followed by Nikhil Advani's romantic comedy-drama Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), starring Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Preity Zinta. Both of these films earned widespread critical acclaim and emerged as major commercial successes, ranking as the top domestic and overseas earners in their respective release years.

Dharma's next release was the natural horror film Kaal (2005), which received mixed reviews from critics.

This was followed by Karan Johar's musical romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), featuring an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, and Kirron Kher. Exploring themes of marital infidelity, emotional dissatisfaction, and dysfunctional relationships, the film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences upon release; moreover, it emerged as a major commercial success at the domestic box office and became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time overseas at the time of its release. It has since been regarded as a cult classic and ahead of its time due to its central theme, storyline, and characterizations.

Dharma's next release was Tarun Mansukhani's commercially successful romantic comedy Dostana (2008), starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, and Priyanka Chopra. This was followed by Ayan Mukerji's coming-of-age comedy-drama Wake Up Sid (2009) starring Konkona Sen Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor, and Rensil D'Silva's counter-terrorism thriller Kurbaan (2009) starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

2010–present

Dharma's first release of 2018 was Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller Raazi, starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, based on Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success. Later that year came Shashank Khaitan's romance Dhadak (2018), which launched the careers of lead actors Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor. This was an adaptation of the Marathi film Sairat (2016). In November 2018, a new sector of the company was introduced called Dharmatic, focusing on producing digital content for online distribution.

In 2019, Anurag Singh's Kesari, a period drama based on the Battle of Saragarhi, starred Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra in lead roles. The film earned Rs. 200 crores worldwide in the box office and is currently Kumar's highest-grossing film.

Dharma released the biopic Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl starring Jahnvi Kapoor in the lead on August 12, 2020. On 12 August 2021, it released the biographical film based on the life of Capt. Vikram Batra, Shershaah, which won several accolades, including the National Film Award – Special Jury Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Film.

In 2024, Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, acquired a 50% stake in Karan Johar's Dharma Productions for approximately ₹1000 crore.

Filmography

Main article: List of Dharma Productions films

Dharmatic Entertainment

In November 2018, Dharma Productions launched a new subsidiary called Dharmatic Entertainment. Johar revealed the focus of the division would be on developing and producing digital content for online distribution platforms. He furthermore announced that he and Apoorva Mehta, who also serves as the chief executive officer of Dharma Productions, would be jointly heading the unit with Somen Mishra (head of creative development at the parent company) and former journalist Aneesha Baig heading and overseeing fiction and non-fiction content.

In September 2019, Dharmatic Entertainment signed a multi-year exclusive content deal with Netflix India under which the studio would develop and produce a range of fictional and non-fictional series and films for the streaming platform, which would be released as originals.

Film

Television

References

Footnotes

References

1. Punathambekar, Aswin. (24 July 2013). "From Bombay to Bollywood: The Making of a Global Media Industry". NYU Press.
2. (28 June 2004). "Yash Johar, in memoriam". [[Rediff.com]].
3. "Producers Who Scored at the Box Office".
4. Singh, Prashant. (11 July 2016). "Karan Johar enters ad world with Dharma 2.0".
5. Jha, Lata. (28 November 2018). "Karan Johar launches digital content company Dharmatic Entertainment".
6. (9 October 2015). "Dostana to Shaandaar: Dharma Productions completes 35 years".
7. (2011-11-01). "Rishi Kapoor the versatile actor – Dharma Production".
8. (2017-10-23). "Dharma Productions: Ruling The Box-Office And Winning Hearts -".
9. (2011-08-29). "Agneepath's release date out".
10. "Remembering Yash Johar".
11. Pandya, Sonal. "200 years of Duplicate: Good vs evil in Shah Rukh Khan's first double role".
12. (2018-10-16). "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai turns 20, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji reunite at celebrations. See pics, videos".
13. (2013-10-16). "Karan Johar Gets Sentimental On Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's 15th Anniversary".
14. (2012-12-17). "Dharma Productions celebrates 11 years of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham".
15. "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham – Movie". [[Box Office India]].
16. (2018-11-28). "Karan Johar gets nostalgic as Kal Ho Naa Ho turns 15".
17. Malvania, Urvi. (2014-05-14). "One place in India where Dharma succeeds". Business Standard India.
18. (17 August 2006). "'Kabhi Alvida' strikes box-office gold abroad".
19. (2018-11-14). "4 Things They Got Wrong In 'Dostana', And That One Thing They Got So Right".
20. "Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer 'Brahmastra' to release on Christmas 2019".
21. "'Kurbaan' - Bollywood movie posters that created controversies".
22. (28 November 2018). "Karan Johar launches new digital division at Dharma Productions".
23. (10 January 2018). "It's official: Parineeti Chopra to play the female lead in Akshay Kumar's Kesari".
24. (17 October 2023). ""Very honoured, very humbled": Karan Johar as 'Shershaah' wins National Film Award".
25. (2024-10-21). "Karan Johar's Dharma Productions sells 50% stake to Adar Poonawalla for ₹1,000 crore". The Hindu.
26. (28 November 2018). "Karan Johar launches Dharma Productions' new digital content division, Dharmatic Entertainment".
27. (28 November 2018). "Karan Johar launches new digital division called 'Dharmatic'".
28. (28 November 2018). "Karan Johar starts a new digital division called Dharmatic Entertainment".
29. (28 November 2018). "Dharmatic: Karan Johar Launches New Digital Division".
30. (2019-09-10). "Netflix Inks Content Partnership With Karan Johar's Bollywood Studio".
31. (18 February 2020). "Guilty trailer: Kiara Advani plays a feisty musician in Netflix film, fans say 'Preeti has turned into Kabir Singh'". Hindustan Times.
32. (19 March 2021). "Karan Johar unveils teaser of Netflix anthology Ajeeb Daastaans which is set to premiere on April 16". Bollywood Hungama.
33. Ramnath, Nandini. (22 April 2021). "'Searching For Sheela' review: A quest that goes nowhere (and probably never intended to)". Scroll.in.
34. (25 November 2020). "Sanya Malhotra and Abhimanyu Dassani join hands for Meenakshi Sundareshwar". The Indian Express.
35. (23 January 2024). "Sara Ali Khan starrer Ae Watan Mere Watan to release on March 22: Report". Bollywood Hungama.
36. (21 January 2024). "Ibrahim Ali Khan and Khushi Kapoor kick off rom-com journey with Karan Johar". Bollywood Hungama.
37. (17 June 2025). "R. Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh starrer Aap Jaisa Koi to start streaming on Netflix from July 11". Bollywood Hungama.
38. (13 November 2020). "Netflix's 'Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives': Reality series promises ultimate guilty pleasure". [[The Hindu]].
39. (2022-02-25). "Madhuri Dixit makes OTT debut with 'The Fame Game'; releases today on Netflix".
40. (19 June 2022). "Koffee with Karan Season 7 teaser: Host Karan Johar promises a 'bigger, better and more beautiful' experience. Watch video".
41. (23 May 2023). "After Suspicious Partner, Kim Hye-soo and Lee Je-hoon's K-drama Signal to get an Indian remake".