Dharma Productions is now known for its opulent films but this wasn’t the case when Yash Johar was trying to make his company into a profitable business venture. In fact, before his son Karan started making movies in the company in the late 1990s, Dharma had been through a rather dark phase. In a recent interview, Nikkhil Advani, who worked with Yash and Karan Johar through Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho, shared that there was a time when Johar’s house was mortgaged and Karan’s mother Hiroo had a heart attack. They were even selling some of the camera and light equipment to get some funds.
In a chat with Lehren Retro, Nikkhil said, “I remember Karan (Johar) telling me that there was a time when he sold his lights and camera. He had mortgaged his house. Hiroo aunty had a heart attack. I think Amit ji met Yash uncle and asked him, ‘How is Hiroo?’. They were both very close as they were school friends. Yash uncle told him, ‘She is in Breach Candy hospital’. Amitji left his shoot and rushed to see her in the hospital.”
Nikkhil revealed that it was after this meeting that the film Agneepath came into existence. He recalled, “They were there at the hospital. Amit ji came out, met Yash uncle and told him, ‘There is a boy, who I am making a film with. Romesh is producing it but you call him up and tell him that Amit has given dates for your film. There is a subject on Scarface, we should do it together’. That’s how Agneepath came about. That’s how the film got made. He simply said, ‘I know what you going through, I know what the condition is right now, I am giving you the dates, let’s start.’” Despite their best efforts, and a ton of critical acclaim, Agneepath wasn’t a box office success.
Speaking about his association with Dharma Productions, the filmmaker said, “I don’t see my time at Dharma as three films, I see it as I was there at Dharma when the foundation was being made. Both Yash uncle and Karan were trying to set up the production house. Those three films (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kal Ho Naa Ho) are the foundation of Karan’s Dharma Productions.”
In an earlier appearance on Aapka Apna Zakir, Karan said that his father took a huge loan to set up Dharma Productions and made Dostana and while that film was a success, he faced losses with many subsequent flops. Yash Johar was a production controller for 30 years before he set up his own company. Karan also expressed his regret that his father could not see the best phase of their company.