Filmmaker Karan Johar made headlines last year after signing a massive ₹1000 crore deal to sell a 50% stake in Dharma Productions to billionaire Adar Poonawalla’s company, Serene Productions. The remaining 50% continues to be owned by Karan Johar, along with CEO Apoorva Mehta.
But Did This Deal Cost Karan Johar His Creativity?In a recent interview with Komal Nahata, Karan Johar shared how his partnership with Adar has made him more responsible and sceptical about his creative decisions.
© Instagram/Karan Johar
Karan Johar said, “I had many dreams that weren’t able to get fulfilled because there was a funding issue. I was very clear that I am okay to sell 50% of my company or to sell equity, only because I want to expand. I want to leave many legacies behind, within the company. Me and Apoorva, who work like brothers, had decided that we would do this but we needed the right partner.”
Talking about his chemistry with Poonawalla, KJo said, “It so happened eventually that Adar and his wife Natasha have been my close friends, very dear to me. He picked up the phone one day and said that I am interested, but I told him that this is not your business. He said he also wanted to expand.”
He added, “Apoorva is the most correct human. Our accounts are perfect down to the last rupee. He runs it like a proper well-oiled machinery. I don’t know where I would have been without him. He is literally doing my father’s work, also like a brother, managing the company like family. Unke bagair mai bikhar jaata. I am a creative person. I have no understanding on business and numbers. He really led that, he is the spine of the company.”
© Instagram/Karan Johar
About his creative decisions, Karan Johar said, “Every deal has its own advantages and responsibilities. There was never accountability before this, I just learned the term quarter. Apoorva keeps me on my toes, he says, ‘Not profitable, don’t do it’, because I had already taken many decisions creatively. I wanted to make certain films for creative satisfaction and to move the bar of cinema. There are many films that weren’t box office hits but are still remembered for what they were. I want to make those films as well.”
The director then stated, “But now, you have to take every decision with profitability. It is very important to be profitable, we are a commercial enterprise. I made Homebound, worldwide critically acclaimed, but I can’t say if I’ll take such decisions in the future or not. I will feel upset, but I chose this deal for a reason – growth. Growth comes from profit, and profit comes from profitability. I will always be artistic, but it is important to be commercial as well.”
© Dharma Productions
On the work front, Karan Johar’s latest production, Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumar,i is still running in theatres.
The film stars Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor, Sanya Malhotra and Rohit Saraf in the lead roles.
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