List of Dharma Productions films

Karan Johar, the son of founder Yash Johar, has directed seven films for Dharma Productions, as of 2023

Dharma Productions is an Indian production company established by Yash Johar in 1976.[1] A large number of its were co-produced with companies such as Red Chillies Entertainment and Star Studios. In addition, Dharma Productions has presented five other Indian language films from other companies. The most frequent collaborations of the company have been with the actors Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Sanjay Dutt.

Dharma Productions' first release came in 1980 with the Raj Khosla–directed Dostana, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha and Zeenat Aman, which was a commercial success.[2] However, their subsequent releases, Duniya (1984) and Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987) performed poorly at the box office.[3] Their first release of the 1990s, the Bachchan-starring thriller Agneepath (1990) garnered critical acclaim but was a commercial failure.[4] The company's next releases were the thriller Gumrah (1993) and the comedy Duplicate (1998), both directed by Mahesh Bhatt.[3] In 1998, Yash Johar's son, Karan Johar made his directorial debut with the romantic drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1998, and established Dharma Productions as a leading production company in India.[5][6] Their subsequent releases, the ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), and the romantic dramas Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), all starring Khan, were top-grossing Hindi films in domestic and overseas markets.[7][8]

From 2008 onwards, in addition to directorial ventures from Karan Johar, the company introduced several new directors, including Ayan Mukerji, Punit Malhotra, Karan Malhotra, and Shakun Batra.[9] The romantic comedy Dostana (2008) was the first mainstream Hindi film to take a homosexual storyline.[10] In 2012, Karan Johar directed the teen romance Student of the Year, which marked the debut of Malhotra, Dhawan and Bhatt.[11] The following year, the company co-produced the critically acclaimed drama The Lunchbox, which was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.[12]

Dharma Productions' greatest successes in the next decades came with the social drama My Name Is Khan (2010); action drama the 2012 remake of Agneepath; the romantic dramas Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), 2 States (2014), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017); the family drama Kapoor & Sons (2016); the spy film Raazi (2018); the action films Simmba (2018) and Sooryavanshi (2021); the comedy Good Newwz (2019); the war film Shershaah (2021); the fantasy film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022); and the romantic comedy film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023).[13][14][15][16]

  1. ^ Punathambekar, Aswin (24 July 2013). From Bombay to Bollywood: The Making of a Global Media Industry. NYU Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-0-8147-7189-1. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Yash Johar, in memoriam". Rediff.com. 28 June 2004. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b Verma, Sukanya (29 June 2004). "A Yash Johar film!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  4. ^ KBR, Upala (26 January 2012). "Agneepath broke my father's heart: Karan Johar". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ^ Bhattacharya, Roshmilla (30 May 2010). "My name is Karan". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Box Office 1998". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  7. ^ Quayson, Ato; Daswani, Girish (3 July 2013). A Companion to Diaspora and Transnationalism. John Wiley & Sons. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-118-32064-8.
  8. ^ "Overseas Earnings (Figures in Ind Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Talent should not have a gender: Karan Johar". Deccan Herald. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  10. ^ Dudrah, Rajinder Kumar (2012). Bollywood Travels: Culture, Diaspora and Border Crossings in Popular Hindi Cinema. Routledge. pp. 43–46. ISBN 978-0-415-44740-9.
  11. ^ "Karan Johar: I feel I am film institute of India". The Indian Express. 13 June 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  12. ^ "BAFTA: 'Boyhood' wins top honours, 'The Lunchbox' misses award". Zee News. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  13. ^ "Top Worldwide Grossers". Box Office India. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Box Office: Worldwide collections and day wise break up of Raazi". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Top Worldwide Grossers All Time". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  16. ^ "Simmba Hits Huge Number Worldwide". Box Office India. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2019.