Karan Johar calls himself ‘worst negotiator’ after selling 50% of Dharma: ‘I knew 50 crore would be 1500 crore’

Filmmaker Karan Johar recently opened up about selling a 50% stake in Dharma Productions to Adar Poonawalla. In a recent chat with Curly Tales, Johar admitted that his business acumen isn’t great and praised Apoorva Mehta, CEO of his company. He called himself the ‘creative source’.

Karan Johar said, "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."

Karan Johar on feeling lost after father's death

The filmmaker revealed that he was lost after his father, Yash Johar's, death.

“My father, who passed away in 2004, was a film producer. I’ve learned all my mantras of life, all my philosophies, and everything I know about living a life within the movie business from him. But when he passed away, I was a little lost. I don’t have siblings, and there wasn’t family who could help me run this," he added. “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 also said.

Dharma Productions' ₹1,000 crore deal

Talking about his ₹1,000 crore Dharma deal with Poonawalla, Karan called it the right call. “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," he said.

Commenting on his negotiating skills, he said, “I’m the worst. I should never be in the negotiation room because I’ll always give up more and receive less.”

In 2024, Karan Johar sold off 50% of his production company, Dharma Productions, to Adar Poonawalla of Serum Institute of India. The deal was worth ₹1,000 crore. It valued Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment at ₹2,000 crore, as per reports, making it one of the biggest deals in the film industry ever.

Karan Johar revealed Poonawalla invested in his Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment.