Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions sells 50% stake to Adar Poonawalla

e4m was the first to report that Dharma was planning to sell a stake

by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 21, 2024 10:17 AM | 2 min read

Filmmaker Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions has sold its 50% stake to Adar Poonawalla-led Serene Productions. e4m has learnt from reliable sources. Details of the deal are not yet known.

e4m was the first to report that Dharma was planning to offload its minority stakes. As reported by us, Karan Johar's Dharma Productions was engaged in discussions with multiple parties, including music company Saregama and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), before finalizing the deal with Poonawalla. In fact, top leaders of Dharma and Reliance met on Friday to discuss the potential deal.

Industry insiders claimed that Dharma first approached Saregama, an RPSG group music label, which reportedly valued the company at Rs 600 crore, even as the company’s revenue was above Rs 1,000 crore. The production house then approached RIL for a better deal.

Dharma Productions has been actively seeking strategic partnerships for quite some time in response to rising production costs and shifting consumer preferences toward OTT platforms.

Notably, Dharma is currently reeling under pressure due to losses incurred on poor performance of its recent film Jigra which Karan co-produced with Alia Bhatt. The total collection of Alia starrer 'Jigra' so far after 6 days of release is Rs 21 crore. Meanwhile, Rajkummar Rao, Triptii Dimri's 'Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video' released alongside Jigra on October 11 has made Rs 25 crore so far, which is also being considered subdued by film critics.

As per media reports, Jigra was made on a budget of Rs 80 crore, and another Rs 10 crore was allotted to the film publicity. However, Jigra faced allegations of plagiarism. While Johar may have recovered the product cost with sale of digital, satellite and music rights, he could not profit despite a festive season.

In FY23, Dharma Productions' profit after tax fell to Rs 10.7 crores, down from Rs 27.1 crores in FY22, according to financial data from Tofler.
Founded in 1976 by Karan Johar's late father, Yash Johar, Dharma Productions is one of India's foremost film production houses, launching its legacy with the film Dostana, starring Amitabh Bachchan. Karan Johar took over the company in 2004 after his father’s demise, expanding its operations into various sectors, including advertising, talent management, content production, and live entertainment through initiatives like Dharma 2.0, Cornerstone Agency, Dharmatic Entertainment, and DharmaShow Live TV & Movies.