Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions initiates talks with Jio Studios for collaboration

By: Mohnish Singh

Spearheaded by Karan Johar, Dharma Productions has established itself as one of the leading production houses in Bollywood, which keeps delivering several box-office hits every year. The banner now seems set to join forces with Jio Studios for its future endeavours after a similar high-profile deal fell through with Lyca Productions.

According to reports, Dharma Productions has already initiated talks with Jio Studio for collaboration. “If all goes well, then Jio Studios would back Dharma Productions. The development happened after Karan Johar had a meeting with Mukesh Ambani, who owns two film entities - Jio Studios and Viacom18 Motion Pictures. The meeting seems to have been fruitful. It was felt by both that more than Viacom18, Jio should come on board. Of course, it won’t be official until both parties sign on the dotted line. The modalities are being worked out.”

The source goes on to add, “The times that we live in, everything is unpredictable. Dharma-Lyca deal was almost confirmed but eventually, it failed to materialize. Hence, one cannot say what the end result would be with regards to the Dharma-Jio deal. Let’s wait and watch.”

Jio Studios, which entered the business in 2018, scored a big hit with its first film Stree. The studio then went on to bankroll several high-profile films, including Luka Chuppi (2019), Made In China (2019), Bala (2019), Love Aaj Kal (2020), Angrezi Medium (2020) and Roohi (2021).

Talking about the deal, an industry insider says, “I hope this deal fructifies. Jio Studios has been doing great. And Karan Johar, as we all know, is a credible producer. His slate of upcoming films is also quite exciting. Definitely, it will be a win-win situation for both Dharma Productions as well as Jio Studios.”

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