Dharma Production

Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian motion picture production and

distribution company based in

Mumbai as part of the Hindi film industry . The company was founded by Yash Johar in 1979 and was taken over in 2004 after his death by his son

Karan Johar. It has produced several commercially and critically successful films over the years.

Initial success (1980-1998)

The company's first production was

Raj Khosla's Dostana (1980) starring

Amitabh Bachchan , Shatrughan Sinha, and Zeenat Aman. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year .

The company then went on to produce

Duniya (1984) and Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987). Its next film was Agneepath (1990), which won a National Film Award for its lead actor Amitabh Bachchan . Its next two films were

Gumrah (1993) and Duplicate (1998), which were both directed by Mahesh Bhatt .



The production house reached a turning point with the release of Karan Johar 's directorial debut, the blockbuster romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) starring Shah Rukh Khan,

Kajol and Rani Mukerji. The film won several awards, like the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the

Filmfare Award for Best Film .

The company's next film was Karan Johar's family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) featuring a large ensemble cast led by Amitabh Bachchan , Jaya Bachchan , Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and

Kareena Kapoor . This was followed by

Nikhil Advani's romantic drama Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta , and Saif Ali Khan. Both of these films earned commercial success and critical acclaim.

Dharma's next release was the natural horror film Kaal (2005) starring Ajay Devgan , John Abraham, Esha Deol ,

Vivek Oberoi and Lara Dutta. The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. This was followed by

Karan Johar's romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) featuring a large ensemble cast led by Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan , Preity Zinta , Amitabh Bachchan , and Kirron Kher . The film became a moderate commercial success despite the fact that it dealt with the controversial subject of marital infidelity.

Widespread success (2008-present)

Dharma's next release was Tarun Mansukhani 's commercially successful romantic comedy Dostana (2008) starring Abhishek Bachchan ,

John Abraham, and Priyanka Chopra . This was followed by Ayan Mukerji's coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid (2009) starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma . Rensil D'Silva 's counter-terrorism thriller Kurbaan (2009) starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, and Vivek Oberoi. Both Wake Up Sid and Kurbaan received critical acclaim and moderate commercial success.

In 2010, Dharma produced two of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films of the year. The fifth spot on the list was taken by Karan Johar’s counter-terrorism drama My Name Is Khan (2010) starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol , while the seventh spot was taken by Punit Malhotra ’s romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010) starring Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor . Later that year, the production house produced the family drama We Are Family (2010), a Hindi remake of the Hollywood film Stepmom (1998). The film received praise for the performances of the two lead actresses Kajol and Kareena Kapoor, who played roles originally played by

Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts respectively.

The company's first film of 2012 was

Karan Malhotra's Agneepath, a retelling of Dharma’s 1990 film of the same name . It featured Hrithik Roshan and

Sanjay Dutt in the roles originated by

Amitabh Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa respectively, while

Priyanka Chopra and Rishi Kapoor played principal roles not in the original film. This film emerged as much larger commercial success than the original Agneepath. This was followed by Shakun Batra ’s moderately successful romantic comedy Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor . After this came Karan Johar’s coming-of-age romantic comedy

Student of the Year (2012), which marked the debut of its three lead actors Sidharth Malhotra , Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt .

Dharma’s first release of 2013 was the teen comedy Gippi . This was followed by Ayan Mukerji’s coming-of-age romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) starring Deepika Padukone , Ranbir Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur and Kalki Koechlin , which still ranks among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all-time . Dharma was also one of the many production houses associated with the widely acclaimed drama The Lunchbox (2013) starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur , and

Nawazuddin Siddiqui. They finished off the year with Punit Malhotra ’s relatively unsuccessful romantic comedy Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013) starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor .

In 2014, Dharma produced three commercially successful romantic comedies all directed by first-time directors. The first was Vinil Matthews’s Hasee Toh Phasee (2014) starring Sidharth Malhotra and

Parineeti Chopra, which was co-produced by Phantom Films . The second was Abhishek Varman’s 2 States (2014) starring Arjun Kapoor and

Alia Bhatt , a film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat ’s novel of the same name . The third was Shashank Khaitan’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) starring

Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt . After these three romantic comedies came Rensil D'Silva's relatively unsuccessful black comedy Ungli (2014) starring

Emraan Hashmi , Randeep Hooda,

Kangana Ranaut, Sanjay Dutt, Angad Bedi and Neil Bhoopalam .

In July 2015, Dharma distributed the Hindi-dubbed version of S. S. Rajamouli 's epic film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), which was originally filmed in Telugu and Tamil. Upon its release, the film became a major commercial and critical success.



Widespread success (2008-present)

Dharma's next release was Tarun Mansukhani 's commercially successful romantic comedy Dostana (2008) starring Abhishek Bachchan ,

John Abraham, and Priyanka Chopra . This was followed by Ayan Mukerji's coming-of-age film Wake Up Sid (2009) starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma . Rensil D'Silva 's counter-terrorism thriller Kurbaan (2009) starring Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, and Vivek Oberoi. Both Wake Up Sid and Kurbaan received critical acclaim and moderate commercial success.

In 2010, Dharma produced two of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films of the year. The fifth spot on the list was taken by Karan Johar’s counter-terrorism drama My Name Is Khan (2010) starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol , while the seventh spot was taken by Punit Malhotra ’s romantic comedy I Hate Luv Storys (2010) starring Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor . Later that year, the production house produced the family drama We Are Family (2010), a Hindi remake of the Hollywood film Stepmom (1998). The film received praise for the performances of the two lead actresses Kajol and Kareena Kapoor, who played roles originally played by

Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts respectively.

The company's first film of 2012 was

Karan Malhotra's Agneepath, a retelling of Dharma’s 1990 film of the same name . It featured Hrithik Roshan and

Sanjay Dutt in the roles originated by

Amitabh Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa respectively, while

Priyanka Chopra and Rishi Kapoor played principal roles not in the original film. This film emerged as much larger commercial success than the original Agneepath. This was followed by Shakun Batra ’s moderately successful romantic comedy Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012) starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor . After this came Karan Johar’s coming-of-age romantic comedy

Student of the Year (2012), which marked the debut of its three lead actors Sidharth Malhotra , Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt .

Dharma’s first release of 2013 was the teen comedy Gippi . This was followed by Ayan Mukerji’s coming-of-age romantic comedy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) starring Deepika Padukone , Ranbir Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur and Kalki Koechlin , which still ranks among the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all-time . Dharma was also one of the many production houses associated with the widely acclaimed drama The Lunchbox (2013) starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur , and

Nawazuddin Siddiqui. They finished off the year with Punit Malhotra ’s relatively unsuccessful romantic comedy Gori Tere Pyaar Mein (2013) starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor .

In 2014, Dharma produced three commercially successful romantic comedies all directed by first-time directors. The first was Vinil Matthews’s Hasee Toh Phasee (2014) starring Sidharth Malhotra and

Parineeti Chopra, which was co-produced by Phantom Films . The second was Abhishek Varman’s 2 States (2014) starring Arjun Kapoor and

Alia Bhatt , a film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat ’s novel of the same name . The third was Shashank Khaitan’s Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014) starring

Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt . After these three romantic comedies came Rensil D'Silva's relatively unsuccessful black comedy Ungli (2014) starring

Emraan Hashmi , Randeep Hooda,

Kangana Ranaut, Sanjay Dutt, Angad Bedi and Neil Bhoopalam .

In July 2015, Dharma distributed the Hindi-dubbed version of S. S. Rajamouli 's epic film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), which was originally filmed in Telugu and Tamil. Upon its release, the film became a major commercial and critical success.