Influencers, IPs: Dharma Productions' talent arm reworks playbook post buyout

L to R- Dharma Collab Artists Agency (DCAA) CEO, Uday Singh Gauri, Apoorva Mehta, CEO of Dharma Productions and Karan Johar

Dharma Productions is redrawing its playbook after taking full ownership of its talent arm.

Following the buyout of brand and talent management firm Cornerstone’s stake, the Karan Johar–Adar Poonawalla-backed venture Dharma Collab Artists Agency (DCAA), is sharpening focus on influencer-led growth and intellectual property (IP) creation.

"Scalability in this business is going to come from the new media and influencers. We will see that influencer business and the new media will also take its own shape and size," DCAA chief executive officer Uday Singh Gauri told Moneycontrol on December 22.

In the music and concert space, IP creation is going to be the focus. "There is a substantial amount of revenue contribution that comes from music, concerts and weddings, appearances and performances, which is characterised as a live business," he said.

Gauri is also waiting for India's own rockstar to take centre stage. He said unlike the West, the country is yet to have a face plus voice talent.

There is also a small fraction coming from equity deals but that contribution comes in only when an exit happens, Gauri said.

"We take the entire investment piece, sweat equity, investment businesses, co-creating brands very seriously. We are actually in conversation with everybody to ensure that the startup economy also reflects on the bottom line," Singh said.

The company is looking to back businesses launched by their talent, though the biggest chunk of revenue still comes from brand deals.

"From a revenue standpoint, brand endorsements and the brand revenue stream is slightly above 50 percent. But we have diversified because this was the only business that was there about four years ago," the CEO added.

Dharma and Cornerstone had joined hands in 2020 that combined Johar's content and production ecosystem with the brand firm's expertise in talent representation.

On December 16, Dharma announced acquisition of Cornerstone’s stake in the talent management company. The move came after Serene Productions LLP, backed by Adar Poonawalla, bought 50 percent stakes in both Dharma Productions and its digital arm, Dharmatic Entertainment, through a Rs 1,000 crore strategic investment in 2024.

The Dharma and Cornerstone joint venture reported a net profit of Rs 12 crore in FY25, down from Rs 14 crore in the previous year.

Soon after the split, brand and talent management firm Cornerstone joined hands with Prarthana Ajmani's Armour Entertainment. The JV called CXA has signed Tiger Shroff as their first talent under this alliance.

DCAA represents a roster which includes Janhvi Kapoor, Ananya Panday, Sara Ali Khan, Disha Patani, Rasha Thadani, Aditya Roy Kapur, Harshvardhan Rane, Lakshya, Rohit Saraf, Neeti Mohan, Jonita Gandhi, Orry, Sumukhi Suresh, Anahita Shroff and Kareema Barry.

"We have a robust new media, music team, along with casting and also an advertising production house called Dharma 2.0, as well as Dharmatic which works closely with all the streamers. So, we will look at aligning different verticals together. This is a talent first agency, so our focus continues to remain on artist nurturing and providing the opportunities for talent," Singh said.