1980–1998 The company's first production was
Raj Khosla's
Dostana (1980), starring
Amitabh Bachchan,
Shatrughan Sinha, and
Zeenat Aman. The film was one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of the year. The company then went on to produce
Duniya (1984) and
Muqaddar Ka Faisla (1987), neither of which performed well at the box office. This was followed by
Agneepath (1990), which did not emerge as a commercial success at that time but was later regarded as a
cult film. It also won a
National Film Award for its lead actor, Amitabh Bachchan. The company's next two films,
Gumrah (1993) and
Duplicate (1998), which were both directed by
Mahesh Bhatt, met with moderate success at the box office.
1998–2009 In 1998, the same year as
Duplicate, Dharma Productions also released the romantic comedy-drama
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the directorial debut of
Karan Johar, the son of
Yash Johar, owner of the production company. The film, starring
Shah Rukh Khan,
Kajol,
Rani Mukerji, and
Salman Khan, proved to be a phenomenal success, and this opened a whole new chapter in the history of the company. The film won several awards, including the
National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the
Filmfare Award for Best Film. has directed seven feature films and has produced all of the company's films since his father's death in 2004. The company's next film was Karan Johar's family drama
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), featuring an
ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan,
Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol,
Hrithik Roshan, and
Kareena Kapoor. This was followed by
Nikhil Advani's romantic comedy-drama
Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), starring Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan,
Saif Ali Khan, and
Preity Zinta. Both of these films earned widespread critical acclaim and emerged as major commercial successes, ranking as the top domestic and overseas earners in their respective release years. Dharma's next release was the natural horror film
Kaal (2005), which received mixed reviews from critics. This was followed by
Karan Johar's musical romantic drama
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), featuring an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan,
Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta, and
Kirron Kher. Exploring themes of
marital infidelity, emotional dissatisfaction, and dysfunctional relationships, the film opened to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences upon release; moreover, it emerged as a major commercial success at the domestic box office and became the highest-grossing Indian film of all time overseas at the time of its release. It has since been regarded as a
cult classic and ahead of its time due to its central theme, storyline, and characterizations. Dharma's next release was
Tarun Mansukhani's commercially successful romantic comedy
Dostana (2008), starring Abhishek Bachchan,
John Abraham, and
Priyanka Chopra. This was followed by
Ayan Mukerji's coming-of-age comedy-drama
Wake Up Sid (2009) starring
Konkona Sen Sharma and
Ranbir Kapoor, and
Rensil D'Silva's counter-terrorism thriller
Kurbaan (2009) starring Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
2010–present Dharma's first release of 2018 was
Meghna Gulzar's spy thriller
Raazi, starring
Alia Bhatt and
Vicky Kaushal, based on Harinder Sikka's novel
Calling Sehmat. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success. Later that year came Shashank Khaitan's romance
Dhadak (2018), which launched the careers of lead actors
Ishaan Khatter and
Janhvi Kapoor. This was an adaptation of the Marathi film
Sairat (2016). In November 2018, a new sector of the company was introduced called Dharmatic, focusing on producing digital content for online distribution. In 2019,
Anurag Singh's
Kesari, a period drama based on the
Battle of Saragarhi, starred Akshay Kumar and
Parineeti Chopra in lead roles. The film earned Rs. 200 crores worldwide in the box office and is currently Kumar's highest-grossing film. for
Shershaah, Dharma released the biopic
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl starring Jahnvi Kapoor in the lead on August 12, 2020. On 12 August 2021, it released the
biographical film based on the life of Capt.
Vikram Batra,
Shershaah, which won several accolades, including the
National Film Award – Special Jury Award and the
Filmfare Award for Best Film. In 2024,
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of
Serum Institute of India, acquired a 50% stake in Karan Johar's Dharma Productions for approximately ₹1000 crore. ==Filmography==