Dharma production

Established by Late Shri Yash Johar in 1976, Dharma Productions endeavor has always been to produce high quality cinema that is accepted and appreciated by audiences across the world. Soon after its inception, Dharma Productions became a buzzword for stellar productions such as 'Dostana', 'Duniya', 'Muqaddar Ka Faisla', 'Agneepath' and 'Gumrah'. Dharma's reputation as a clean, honest company grew with each of these films and helped build a tremendous amount of goodwill within the fraternity and outside of it. What followed next was cinematic history from Dharma Productions. 1998 saw the release of Dharma Production's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai ('Heartbeats'), the directorial debut of Karan Johar that featured the most loved on-screen couple of contemporary Indian cinema, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. This massive production turned into a huge box office blockbuster and became the first Indian feature film to figure in the UK Top 10 (Empire, December 1998). Kuch Kuch Hota Hai not only broke box-office records but also accumulated a number of National and International awards. Hailed for its superlative performances and excellent craftsmanship Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is acclaimed for its unparalleled standards in presentation, styling and production mounting till this date. Its landmark recognition has been the Indian National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. All of these landmark achievements set up a huge expectancy and anticipation for the next movie from Dharma Productions, and Karan Johar did not fail to deliver. 2001 saw the release of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, ('Laughter and Sadness'), which was scripted and directed by Karan and featured a line-up of Indian megastars across generations. This movie lit up the silver screen with its casting coup of industry stalwarts Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan, contemporary megastars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, and current heartthrobs Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham represented everything that was ever expected of a Dharma Productions movie in terms of its grandeur, exquisiteness, and touching storyline and it won millions of hearts across the world. The movie established new box-office benchmarks, featured in both the US and UK Top Ten Listings, and went on to win awards at a host of National and International Film Festivals. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham made its debut at No. 3 on the UK chart (behind Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings) and was on the Top Ten Films in UK for 4 consecutive weeks in a row. Besides being invited at various International Film Festivals across the Globe, it has also been listed in the Top 20 Asian Films by admission in Europe in the Cannes Film Festival 2002. In fact Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is the first Indian film to have a mainstream release in the territories of Germany, France and Poland. It was very well received with Five Awards including the Best Actress Awards for Kajol at the Valenciennes International Film Festival, France.

With a clear vision of how he wanted to nurture Dharma Productions, Karan Johar embarked on producing films with independent directors under his banner. The first step towards this goal was Kal Ho Naa Ho a film produced by Dharma Productions, written by Karan Johar and directed by his long time associate and assistant Nikhil Advani. Kal Ho Naa Ho, besides starring old favourites like Jaya Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, also had Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan. Besides being hugely successful in the domestic market, this film also became a top grosser in UK and USA. Kal Ho Naa Ho also screened at the International Film Festival - Faces of love, MOSCOW and International Filmfestival Berlinale, BERLIN. The Screenplay of 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' has found a place in the Oscar Archives at the Library of Motion Pictures, Arts and Science, an academy where scripts are collected and preserved mainly for the use for research by actors, students, film-makers and writers who are regular patrons of the library. Latest news: Upcoming projects include another debut director Shakun Batra's Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu film starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Also coming up is the remake of the classic Agneepath directed by Karan Malhotra starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Rishi Kapoor & Sanjay Dutt. This year we will also see Karan bringing back the era of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with his next film "Student of the Year" launching three newcomers Varun Dhawan (son of David Dhawan), Alia Bhatt (daughter of Mahesh Bhatt) and Siddharth Malhotra which will be co-produced by Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment. SOTY will be a happy song and dance film with the tone and syntax being that of a holiday outing. Still from emotional energy perspective, it will be a super cool young flick. Many miles to go before I sleep....is not merely a statement but an adage that we at Dharma Productions live by. Lots of stories to be told...lots of hidden talent to be discovered...and lots of movies to be made.