When Karan Johar preferred Mr India over his father Yash Johar’s multi-starrer

By Subhash K. Jha -

June 26, 2023 - 12:01 PM IST

Karan Johar’s father Yash Johar was a leading producer in the 1970s and 80s. However, he lost a lot of money in the 90s producing big-budget disasters such as Mahesh Bhatt’s Gumrah (starring Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt) and Duplicate (featuring Shah Rukh Khan).

When Karan Johar preferred Mr India over his father Yash Johar’s multi-starrer

But Yash Johar’s biggest setback and the one that wiped him out financially was Muqaddar Ka Faisla featuring a sprawling star cast of Raj Kumar, Raj Babbar, Rakhee Gulzar, Meenakshi Sheshadri and Tina Munim. Released in 1987, it was a massive debacle.

Making things worse for Yash Johar was his own son Karan. “Even I refused to see Muqaddar Ka Faisla! Mr India was released during the same week. I made it very clear that under no circumstance was I going to miss Mr India to see Muqaddar Ka Faisla. My father was disappointed. I could see it on his face. But at 16, you are only interested in doing what you want to do. Even the next day after I picked Mr India over my father’s film, I went to see B Subhash’s Dance Dance,” recalled Karan.

Muqaddar Ka Faisla wiped out the finances of Dharma Production. In 1998, Karan Johar revived his father’s production house. “When Kuch Kuch Hota Hai became such a hit, I was so happy to see that smile back on my father’s face. It was the proudest moment of my life,” recalled Karan emotionally.

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