Netflix has entered into a long-term deal with Karan Johar’s digital content studio, Dharmatic Entertainment
Expect to see Karan Johar and Netflix more in the same sentence. Netflix announced on Wednesday that it has signed a long-term partnership with Dharmatic Entertainment. The less-than-a-year-old digital-focused content arm of Karan Johar-run Dharma Productions, founded by his father Yash Johar in 1979. As part of the new deal with Netflix, Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment will create “a broad range of new fiction and non-fiction series and films” for the world’s biggest streaming service. Dharmatic Entertainment already has one project set up at Netflix, in the Kiara Advani-starrer Guilty, being directed by Ruchi Narain.
Dharmatic Entertainment to produce a range of new fiction, non-fiction series, and films exclusively for Netflix
Netflix International originals VP Bela Bajaria said, “I am incredibly excited about our partnership with Karan Johar — one of India’s greatest modern storytellers.” Adding, “Netflix, Karan Johar, and Dharmatic Entertainment will have all the creative freedom and support they need to create pioneering dramas and unscripted series — as well as films — for our members all over the world.”
Karan Johar express his feelings
“I’m super excited about the projects we already have in development and the limitless possibilities ahead.” He further added, “To create universal stories from India that the world discovers is an incredible and unprecedented opportunity.”
The deal with Dharmatic Entertainment is the latest in a long line that Netflix has inked in India as the company continued its aggressive moves to build its local content offerings. The streamer’s other association with top Bollywood players includes Shah Rukh Khan’s banner Red Chillies Entertainment; which has produced the spy thriller Bard of Blood, which is set to bow worldwide on September 27.
“We’re excited about the immense storytelling possibilities ahead,” Dharma CEO Apoorva Mehta said. “With Netflix as the new storytelling home for Dharmatic Entertainment; I have the highest hopes for what we can do together. Our vision is to create differentiated stories across diverse genres, and we can’t wait to craft and usher much more remarkable series and films into the world with Netflix.”
For Karan Johar
This further extends a partnership with Netflix that has already spanned an anthology movie in Lust Stories last year. Another anthology movie is Ghost Stories (now in production), and the dating reality show ‘What The Love? With Karan Johar’ produced by BBC Studios India. For Netflix, Karan Johar-Dharmatic deal is representative of its new (old) approach to getting more subscribers in India; which is to ingratiate itself with Bollywood’s entrenched powerhouses.
In the past year, Netflix has signed deals with production companies run by Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, and Anushka Sharma among others.
