Karan Johar reveals why he refuses to apologise for his wealth, says his parents had to make sacrifices after Dharma’s early movies failed

Karan said, " When one of the films failed, my mum (Hiroo Johar) sold my nani’s flat, and when another faced the same fate, she sold some of her jewellery. My father had to sell a little property he had in Delhi."

Dharma Productions, established by Yash Johar in 1979, has been a cornerstone in Indian cinema, achieving notable success under the leadership of Karan Johar. The production house's first film, Raj Khosla's 'Dostana' (1980), starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, and Zeenat Aman, was a major success. However, Dharma faced a string of failures with its subsequent projects. Recently, Karan Johar reminisced about his relationship with money and how the early struggles of Dharma Productions shaped it.

Karan shared, "Right after Dostana, Papa saw a series of about five failures. He had a small export division, which he wanted me to take over eventually. During those days, we used to get movies financed. Financers would give us money and we would pay them back with interest. When one of the films failed, my mum (Hiroo Johar) sold my nani’s flat, and when another faced the same fate, she sold some of her jewellery. My father had to sell a little property he had in Delhi. These are the stories I have heard," he recounted in a conversation with journalist Faye D’Souza.

Karan added, "We were not ‘wealthy.’ We were what you call middle class to upper middle class. We always had food on the table, I went to a really good school, and my dad drove a reasonably good car. We never travelled out of the country because we couldn’t afford it. I grew up in a wealthy neighbourhood. Because I was the apple of my father’s eye, he always made me feel like a prince. If pocket money was Rs 25, he gave me Rs 50. I always punched above my weight and lived beyond my means because of my father.”

Reflecting on his own journey, Karan said, “Fortunately, though coincidentally, my first, second, and third films did really well. My father passed away after that. Then I took over Dharma. A lot of the money that we have made at Dharma has been made since I started directing. I feel very proud that I could live my father’s dream. I worked very hard. There have been times when I worked for 18 hours a day. I work through weekends and national holidays. I work every day. I work for about 16 to 20 hours every day. I sleep for only five hours. I work very hard for the money I have made. I am never going to apologise for that."

He also noted that his father deserved more recognition for everything that he did, "He never really saw the success he deserved, considering the work he put in. A producer back then was a low-hanging fruit. Today, I am a creative producer. There was no such thing at that time. A producer just brought in the money and put the project together. He would have been very proud of Dharma’s success if he were alive today.”