KJo felt 'traumatized' during Dharma deal meetings with Adar Poonawalla
Renowned filmmaker Karan Johar recently opened up about selling a major stake in his company, Dharma Productions, to Serum Institute's CEO Adar Poonawalla. Speaking at the CNBC-TV18 Global Leadership Summit, Johar confessed that he felt "traumatized" in the meetings held to seal this deal. He admitted that he wasn't well-versed in business jargon and got lost when they spoke about financial terms like "put," "call," and "exit."
'I didn't know that I had a value...'
Johar, who usually deals with the creative side of Dharma Productions, was out of his depth during these business negotiations. He said, "I am a creative artist...He kept saying, 'I will drag and you will tag,' and I was like...I had no idea what was happening when those Excel sheets would come in front of me." The filmmaker was also surprised at how much of the deal was finalized over Zoom calls.
Johar praised Poonawalla's dynamism and efficiency
Despite his initial discomfort, Johar was impressed by Poonawalla's efficiency in finalizing the deal. He said, "I have to tell you, the dynamism displayed by Adar was almost inspirational to me." "We cracked the major part of this deal on a Zoom call. He had a few questions which had to be answered, and then he was like, 'Where do we sign?'"
Johar's vision for Dharma Productions's future
Johar further explained that the main reason behind this partnership was to take Dharma Productions to a new level. He sees a future where they can fund their own projects without any external support. "I want to chase the mid-budget films because that's where the bigger profits lie," he said, revealing his strategy for the company's growth. Notably, Poonawalla bought a 50% stake in Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment. The deal—which is worth ₹1,000cr—values Johar's production company at ₹2,000cr.
