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Ever since selling a 50 per cent stake in Dharma Productions to Adar Poonawalla, Karan Johar has become increasingly candid about his he handles his business. In a recent chat with the Curly Tales, the ace filmmaker-producer mentioned that his business acumen isn’t his strongest suit. He also revealed that he is the ‘worst’ negotiator who always ends up giving more than he receives. 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 also mentioned, “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.” “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,” the filmmaker said. Speaking about his deal with Poonawalla, Karan said, “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.” The filmmaker also reflected on his negotiating skills and mentioned how he is lacking in that aspect. He said, “I’m the worst. I should never be in the negotiation room because I’ll always give up more and receive less.” After his father’s demise, Karan Johar grew Dharma Productions into one of the biggest brands in India. However, the studio started facing financial problems a few years ago. Last year, Karan Johar sold a 50 per cent stake in Dharma Productions to Serum Institute’s CEO Adar Poonawalla. It was said that Poonawalla has invested Rs 1000 cr into Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment.
