Karan Johar sold 50 perecnt of his company to Adar Poonawalla in 2024. (Photo: Karan Johar/Instagram)Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions sold 50 percent of their equity to Adar Poonawalla in 2024 for Rs 1000 crore and since then, many other Indian film production houses have sought deals with larger conglomerates. In a recent interview, Karan hinted that while Poonawalla has a 50 percent stake in his business, he might exit it at some point as for him, this is a business deal. Karan also spoke about the deals between Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment and Universal Music, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s production house and Saregama.Adar Poonawalla might exit the Dharma deal in a few yearsTalking about Dharma’s deal with Adar Poonawalla, Karan, in a chat with Sarthak Ahuja, said, “I think this was a move towards diversification but with him, it’s a balance. I’m sure at some point he is looking for an exit out of this deal because he is a businessman and this is a business. But also, I think he is a lover of the arts. But he is very clear. Maybe the return at that point, after 8 or 10 years or whenever he is looking at it is not magnificently huge but enough to have satiated him, to have satiated his creativity or rather his diversification needs as well as given him that kind of glory.”ALSO READ | ‘I had to go into the depths of my evil’: Anubhav Sinha on the ‘disgusting’ challenge of filming Assi’s graphic openingKaran said that cinema is all about ‘naam bade aur darshan chote’ and said that he might project a certain lifestyle, but his bank balance is nothing compared to actual business heads. “You look at my bank balance. I am nothing compared to a gazillion business heads but there is a love that people have for the work we do, and that kind of glory cannot be monetised,” he said and added, “I may live a certain life and project a certain lifestyle but please look at my accounts and it will be ‘yeh toh naam bada hai darshan chota hai’.”Karan said that he does not associate name with power and said that the reputation he has earned is so much more than any kind of return on investment. “I don’t associate name with power. I associate name with respect and I always think that respect is bigger than love. Reputation and respect is so much bigger than love, and when you earn that, it is more than what any IP can give me,” he said.Why Excel Entertainment partnered with Universal MusicIn the same chat, Karan was also asked about the deals between Universal Music and Excel Entertainment, where Excel sold 30 percent of their stake; and the deal between Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s production house and Saregama. Talking about Bhansali, Karan said, “I think there was a need for everyone to be self-sufficient. I think he was just bogged down perhaps by the system of going to streaming service with every film, seeking a musical partnership, getting the best value. I feel that he said, ‘Let me find a home’. I feel that was more for Bhansali’s comfort.”Talking about the partnership between Excel Entertainment and Universal Music, Karan said, “With the Excel and Universal partnership, I feel it’s a larger game, it’s a 30 percent ownership right now.” But, the producer added that this could be a “beginning of what could be a larger partnership.” He said that all the older Indian studios are seeking comfort in larger conglomerates so “they can take their chances and not go through this process of this buying and selling that you need to do to make movies.”Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Karan Johar