Dharma Productions Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Johar ...

is an Indian production company established by

Yash Johar Yash Johar (6 September 1929 – 26 June 2004) was an Indian film producer and the founder of Dharma Productions. His films featured lavish sets, were often set in "exotic" locations, and incorporated Indian traditions and family values. H ...

in 1976. A large number of the films were co-produced with companies such as

Red Chillies Entertainment Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian visual effects, production and distribution company established by actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan in 2002. It was transformed from the defunct Dreamz Unlimited. Based in Mumbai, the studio's ...

and

Star Studios Star Studios (formerly known as Fox Star Studios) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Disney Star, part of the Disney International Operations segment of The Walt Disney Company. T ...

. 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 Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of India's highest-paid actresses, she has appeared in ''F ...

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

Sidharth Malhotra Sidharth Malhotra (; born 16 January 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He began his career as a fashion model, but left it to pursue an acting career. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the television serial ''Dhart ...

Kareena Kapoor Khan Kareena Kapoor Khan (; '' née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for playing a va ...

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the rec ...

Kajol Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six F ...

Varun Dhawan Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes b ...

and

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

. Dharma Productions' first release came in 1980 with the

Raj Khosla Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's direc ...

–directed '' Dostana'', starring

Shatrughan Sinha Shatrughan Prasad Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency), Asansol constituency as a member of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). Earlier he ...

and

Zeenat Aman Zeenat Khan (born 19 November 1951), better known as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and former fashion model. She first received recognition for her modelling work, and at the age of 19, went on to participate in beauty pageants, winning both ...

, which was a commercial success. However, their subsequent releases, '' Duniya'' (1984) and ''

Muqaddar Ka Faisla ''Muqaddar Ka Faisla'' () is a 1987 Hindi action film directed by Prakash Mehra and produced by Yash Johar. It stars Raaj Kumar, Raakhee, Raj Babbar, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Tina Munim in pivotal roles. Bappi Lahiri has composed the music for the ...

'' (1987) performed poorly at the box office. Their first release of the 1990s, the Bachchan-starring thriller '' Agneepath'' (1990) garnered critical acclaim but was a commercial failure. The company's next releases were the thriller '' Gumrah'' (1993) and the comedy ''

Duplicate Duplication, duplicate, and duplicator may refer to: Biology and genetics * Gene duplication, a process which can result in free mutation * Chromosomal duplication, which can cause Bloom and Rett syndrome * Polyploidy, a phenomenon also known ...

'' (1998), both directed by

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is ''Saaransh'' (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film F ...

. In 1998, Yash Johar's son,

Karan Johar Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...

made his directorial debut with the romantic drama ''

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ''Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'' () also known as ''KKHH'' or ''K2H2'', is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced under Dharma Productions. It stars the popular on-screen pair of Shah Rukh Kh ...

'', starring

Rani Mukerji Rani Mukerji (pronounced ; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rani Mukerji, multiple accolades, including seven Filmf ...

and

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 1998, and established Dharma Productions as a leading production company in India. Their subsequent releases, the ensemble family drama '' Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001), and the romantic dramas ''

Kal Ho Naa Ho ''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (, ), also abbreviated as ''KHNH'', is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Nikhil Advani, written by Karan Johar with dialogue by Niranjan Iyengar, and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars Ja ...

'' (2003) and ''

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna ''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (), also abbreviated as ''KANK'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by his mother Hiroo Yash Johar, in her debut, under the Dharma Productions ...

'' (2006), all starring Khan, were top-grossing Hindi films in domestic and overseas markets. From 2008 onwards, in addition to directorial ventures from Karan Johar, the company introduced several new directors, including

Ayan Mukerji Ayan Mukerji (born 15 August 1983) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Hindi films. Mukerji made his directorial debut at the age of 26 with the coming-of-age comedy ''Wake Up Sid'' (2009). The film opened to stron ...

Punit Malhotra Punit Malhotra (born 13 May 1981) is an Indian film director who works in Hindi cinema. His first film, ''I Hate Luv Storys'', released on 2 July 2010. Early life and family Punit Malhotra was born on 13 May 1981, in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and bro ...

Karan Malhotra Karan Malhotra is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his debut film '' Agneepath'' (2012) which emerged as one of the highest grossing Bollywood film of the year. Before marking his directorial debut with Dharma Pr ...

, and

Shakun Batra Shakun Batra (born 1 January 1983) is an Indian film director and screenwriter. His first film was the romantic comedy ''Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu'' (2012). He followed this with '' Kapoor & Sons'' (2016) and Gehraiyaan (2022). Career Batra enter ...

. The romantic comedy '' Dostana'' (2008) was the first mainstream Hindi film to take a homosexual storyline. In 2012, Karan Johar directed the teen romance ''

Student of the Year ''Student of the Year'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Karan Johar, written by Rensil D'Silva and Niranjan Iyengar on the basis of an uncredited story by Johar, and produced by Hiroo Yash ...

'', which marked the debut of Malhotra, Dhawan and Bhatt. The following year, the company co-produced the critically acclaimed drama ''

The Lunchbox ''The Lunchbox'' is a 2013 Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Ritesh Batra. Produced by Guneet Monga, Anurag Kashyap and Arun Rangachari, ''The Lunchbox'' is an international co-production of studios in India, the US, Germany an ...

'', which was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy Film Awards, rec ...

. Dharma Productions' greatest successes in the next decades came with the social drama ''

My Name Is Khan ''My Name Is Khan'', is a 2010 social drama film directed by Karan Johar and written by Shibani Bathija and lyricist Niranjan Iyengar. It was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan under their production companies, Dharma Productions and ...

'' (2010); the 2012 remake of ''Agneepath''; the romantic dramas ''

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'' (), also abbreviated as ''YJHD'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ayan Mukerji, written by Mukerji and Hussain Dalal, and produced by Karan Johar. It stars Ranbi ...

'' (2013), '' 2 States'' (2014), ''

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil ''Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'' (), also known as ''ADHM'', is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed, produced and written by Karan Johar. The music is composed by Pritam with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Ra ...

'' (2016), and ''

Badrinath Ki Dulhania ''Badrinath Ki Dulhania'' () is a 2017 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Dharma Productions. A spiritual successor to ''Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania'' (2014), the film stars Varun Dhawan and Alia ...

'' (2017); the family drama ''

Kapoor & Sons ''Kapoor & Sons'', also known as ''Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)'', is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language family comedy drama film directed by Shakun Batra and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions, with Fo ...

'' (2016); the spy film ''

Raazi ''Raazi'' (''Agree'') is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banners of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions. ...

'' (2018); the action films ''

Simmba ''Simmba'' is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty from a script written by Yunus Sajawal and Sajid-Farhad. The third installment of Shetty's Cop Universe film franchise, the film was produced by Shetty and Relian ...

'' (2018) and ''

Sooryavanshi ''Sooryavanshi'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Picturez, Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films. The fourth installment of Shetty's '' ...

'' (2021); the comedy ''

Good Newwz ''Good Newwz'' is an Indian 2019 Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films. It stars Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani and revolves around t ...

'' (2019); the war film ''

Shershaah ''Shershaah'' () is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language biographical war film based on the life of Vikram Batra, martyred in Kargil War, directed by Vishnuvardhan in his Hindi film debut and written by Sandeep Shrivastava. The film was produced by Dh ...

'' (2021); and the fantasy film '' Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva'' (2022).

Films produced

Kajol, Kelvinator Stree Shakti Women Awards 2014 (cropped)

Sanjay Dutt at Mumbai Airport, 2018 (cropped)

Films presented

In addition to the Hindi films produced, the following films were presented by the company:

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dharma