Four women-led series and films by Karan Johar and Dharmatic Entertainment

The Sara Ali Khan-starrer patriotic thriller-drama Ae Watan Mere Watan, produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra of Dharmatic Entertainment, released on Amazon Prime Video on March 21.

There could not have been a better time than the month of March – when we celebrate Women’s History Month - to release the OTT film Ae Watan Mere Watan starring Sara Ali Khan. The Murder Mubarak actress stars as freedom fighter Usha Mehta who started an underground radio station to spread the message of unity in 1942. It comes as no surprise that it is Dharmatic Entertainment backing the project which releases on March 21 on Amazon Prime Video. After all, Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment, which is the digital extension of his production house Dharma Productions, has been the force behind many women-led shows and films ever since they launched their venture in 2018.

With Ae Watan Mere Watan up for release, here’s a look at some of the movies and shows with women in the lead that Karan Johar put his might behind:

Guilty (2020)

Dharmatic Entertainment made its debut with Kiara Advani-led film Guilty directed by Ruchi Narain. The film which was released on Netflix revolves around a girl whose boyfriend is accused of rape by her friend. The movie received praise for its take on the Me-Too movement.

Ajeeb Daastaans (2021)

The anthology of four short films explored fractured relationships and unexpected twists. Although all the four directors were men, most of the stories had the women in focus, especially the more critically-acclaimed Geeli Pucchi directed by Neeraj Ghaywan. Starring Konkona Sen Sharma as a Dalit woman who falls for a woman from a higher caste, the sensitively-directed short made quite an impression on critics and even won Sen-Sharma the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress.

Searching for Sheela (2021)

Critics were not exactly impressed with the short documentary directed by Shakun Batra on the life of Ma Anand Sheela, who was the spokesperson for the Rajneesh movement. Tracing her return to India after 35 years, the documentary was deemed “low on insight and curiosity”. The entertainment quotient, though, was never in doubt.

The Fame Game (2022)

The eight-episode series which was released on Netflix saw Madhuri Dixit-Nene in the titular role of Anamika Anand, a Bollywood star who seems to have it all but is going through a professional as well as personal crisis. The show dealt with the many ups and downs in a female actor’s life as well as her struggles as a mother with Dixit-Nene lending her heft to the character.