After Yash Johar passed away in 2004, Karan Johar initially considered shutting down Dharma Productions to focus solely on filmmaking, feeling unsure about running a business. That changed when he glanced at a photograph of his late father and thought, “Main kaisa beta hoon?” Inspired, he decided to continue his father’s legacy.
Karan revealed that an 11-page letter from Yash Johar detailing properties, investments, and key contacts became his guiding document. Among the instructions was a note about people who owed his father money: “Only if these people call you on their own will you take the money.” Almost everyone eventually paid back, except one.
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One year after his father’s passing, a man from Goa offered Karan a prime piece of land as gratitude for his father’s earlier support. However, since the gift wasn’t mentioned in the letter, Karan declined. “I regret that decision now—I literally slap myself for it,” he admitted on Komal Nahta’s YouTube show Game Changers.
Karan also shared family lessons about gifts. He checks if silver gifts are genuine before reciprocating, following his father’s principle of fairness, or “duniyadari.”
