Karan Johar has never shied away from being candid about his personal or professional life, and this time, he’s opening up about his business side — or rather, the lack of it. The celebrated filmmaker and producer, who sold 50% of his iconic Dharma Productions to Adar Poonawalla’s Serene Productions last year, recently confessed that he’s a “terrible negotiator” who often ends up giving more than he receives.
About the deal
In 2024, Karan made headlines across the entertainment industry after selling half of his production empire to Poonawalla’s Serene Productions, in a deal worth ₹1,000 crore. The investment valued Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment at ₹2,000 crore — one of the biggest transactions in Indian entertainment. Despite the massive scale of the deal, Karan insists that business isn’t exactly his strong suit.
“My business acumen is not the sharpest..”
In a recent chat with Curly Tales, he admitted, “My business acumen is not the sharpest. You may not believe me, but it’s true. So, Apoorva Mehta, who’s the CEO of my company and also my best friend — we grew up together, went to the same school, the same college. He’s the business mind behind Dharma, Dharmatic, Dharma 2.0, DCA, everything that we do. He’s the business brain, and I’m the creative source.”
{{/usCountry}}In a recent chat with Curly Tales, he admitted, “My business acumen is not the sharpest. You may not believe me, but it’s true. So, Apoorva Mehta, who’s the CEO of my company and also my best friend — we grew up together, went to the same school, the same college. He’s the business mind behind Dharma, Dharmatic, Dharma 2.0, DCA, everything that we do. He’s the business brain, and I’m the creative source.”
{{/usCountry}}He also shared how Apoorva Mehta’s return from London changed the course of Dharma’s future. “So, I called on Apoorva, who left his job and business in London and moved back to India. From then on, it’s been 20 years of us working together, 20 years of building Dharma Productions and creating it into what it is today,” he said.
Speaking about the deal with Adar Poonawalla, Karan explained, “It was the right decision for growth, too, because I knew that 50 crore would become 1,500 crore if I had that 50% investment. I knew what I could do with that investment, how I could grow and take my company in a much more forward-moving direction.”
But the filmmaker admits that his confidence in creative decisions doesn’t extend to negotiations. “I’m the worst. I should never be in the negotiation room because I’ll always give up more and receive less,” he quipped.
From inheriting Dharma Productions after his father Yash Johar’s demise to transforming it into one of India’s most successful entertainment brands, Karan's journey has been remarkable.