Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has long been a significant and successful force in Indian cinema. Founded by Karan’s father, Yash Johar, in 1979, Dharma’s debut film, director Raj Khosla’s Dostana (1980), featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, and Zeenat Aman in the lead roles, was a major hit. However, Dharma struggled to replicate this success with their subsequent films. Recently, Karan took a trip down memory lane and opened up about his relationship with wealth and money and how Dharma’s setbacks influenced it.
“Right after Dostana, Papa saw a series of about five failures. He had a small export division, which he wanted me to take over eventually. During those days, we used to get movies financed. Financers would give us money and we would pay them back with interest. When one of the films failed, my mum (Hiroo Johar) sold my nani’s flat, and when another faced the same fate, she sold some of her jewellery. My father had to sell a little property he had in Delhi. These are the stories I have heard,” he said during a chat with journalist Faye D’Souza.
“We were not ‘wealthy.’ We were what you call middle class to upper middle class. We always had food on the table, I went to a really good school, and my dad drove a reasonably good car. We never travelled out of the country because we couldn’t afford it. I grew up in a wealthy neighbourhood. Because I was the apple of my father’s eye, he always made me feel like a prince. If pocket money was Rs 25, he gave me Rs 50. I always punched above my weight and lived beyond my means because of my father,” he added.
“Fortunately, though coincidentally, my first, second, and third films did really well. My father passed away after that. Then I took over Dharma. A lot of the money that we have made at Dharma has been made since I started directing. I feel very proud that I could live my father’s dream. I worked very hard. There have been times when I worked for 18 hours a day. I work through weekends and national holidays. I work every day. I work for about 16 to 20 hours every day. I sleep for only five hours. I work very hard for the money I have made. I am never going to apologise for that,” Karan asserted.
“I believe joy is very critical. I don’t want to apologise for spending money on things that give me joy. I love shopping; it’s therapeutic for me. Why should I apologise for the wealth I earned through hard work?” he asked.
The director-producer also mentioned that his father deserved more recognition for his efforts. “He never really saw the success he deserved, considering the work he put in. A producer back then was a low-hanging fruit. Today, I am a creative producer. There was no such thing at that time. A producer just brought in the money and put the project together. He would have been very proud of Dharma’s success if he were alive today,” Karan said, smiling.
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