Dharma Productions is one of India’s top filmmakers. The company, now headed by Karan Johar, was founded in 1976 by his father, Late Shri Yash Johar, with his first production project, ‘Dostana’, starring Amitabh Bachchan. Yash Johar, then a successful production controller for filmmakers like Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand, became a producer with Dharma Productions in 1976. His most memorable film, Dostana (1980) featured Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman and was directed by Raj. Khosla. The film was a huge hit, but after that, Johar Senior went through a very tough time losing money on his films until his son Karan entered the business in 1998 and made the hugely successful Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
When Yash Johar died in 2004, he left the company to his son, who was 31 at the time. Karan chose his dearest companion from school, Apoorva Mehta, who was then working in London for Yash Raj Movies, and asked him to come back and help him run the organisation and take Yash Johar’s legacy forward. Mehta joined Dharma in 2005 as president and has been leading the organisation ever since. Pvt. Dharma Productions Ltd. is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by Yash Johar in 1979. In 2004, after his death, his son Karan Johar took over the business. It mostly produces and markets Hindi films and is headquartered in Mumbai.
In July 2016, another area of the organisation, called Dharma 2.0, was launched, which focuses on serving advertising ads. In November 2018, another subsidiary of the studio, called Dharmatic Diversion, was created to produce film and television content for the online streaming platforms. Since Karan Johar’s directorial debut with ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, the company has produced more than 35 films, including a string of blockbusters and critically acclaimed films like ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,’ ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,’ ‘2 States,’ and ‘Kapoor & Sons'”
. In recent years, Dharma Productions has made a name for itself in the industry by endorsing and launching new films. The company released critically acclaimed films like Kapoor & Sons, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Badrinath Ki Dulhania last year. Probably the most anticipated films of the year on his list are Raazi, Drive, Dhadak, Simmba, Kesari, Brahmastra and Rannbhoomi. Today, Dharma Productions is the most sought-after production company in the country and is constantly focused on creating new benchmarks in the Indian entertainment world.
