Recently, filmmaker and producer Karan Johar, who sold off 50% of his stake in the production company Dharma Productions, shared a cryptic message on Instagram.
On Sunday (27 October), Johar took to the Stories section of his Instagram account and shared a note. Johar wrote, “Competition happens at the bottom. The people at the top are collaborating.”
Earlier, Adar Poonawalla’s Serene Productions – which set up the same month as the acquisition, and has no website or online presence – purchased a 50% stake in Johar’s Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment.
The association was met with strong reactions from across social media. Lately, Dharma Productions has been struggling as most of its movies have underperformed at the box-office. The rising overheads seems to have pushed KJo to sell the 50% of the company, which his father Yash Johar founded.
Recently, Hindustan Times reported that, in 2019, Dharma Productions generated an annual revenue of over Rs. 700 crore, with profits of around Rs. 27 crore, as mentioned in the company’s annual reports submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Following the pandemic, Dharma witnessed an 83% drop in revenue, and a 75% dip in profits. It recovered in the financial year 2022-23, exceeding its pre-pandemic earnings with an annual revenue of over Rs. 1000 crore in the same financial year.
But, in 2023-24, its revenue dropped by 50% to just over Rs. 500 crore. The profits dropped 95% to the lowest the company has seen in over a decade! As per Tofler, Dharma showed a profit of only Rs. 59 lakh in 2023-24. The figures have raised speculation about the cause behind the need for the influx of Rs. 1000 crore from Adar Poonawalla, making it no longer a family-owned establishment for the first time in history.
Also, recently, Dharma’s Jigra was a commercial failure.
See Also: Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions Lands ₹1,000 Crore Deal For 50% Stake With Serum Institute’s Adar Poonawala
