MR POONAWALLA GOES TO BOLLYWOOD

Thirsty for growth, Bollywood's studios have been wooing non-film suitors, like the vaccine tycoon, for funding

- Lata Jha

Adar Poonawalla is a man who dons many hats. He is equally at home posing next to vaccines for dangerous diseases as he is next to prize horses, sports cars, or celebrities. But outside of partying hard with Bollywood stars, he hasn't really had anything to do with the film business. That changed late in October, when the Serum Institute of India CEO announced he had purchased a 50% stake in veteran Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, known for hits such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, for ₹1,000 crore.

The deal included Dharma Productions' digital content arm Dharmatic Entertainment, which has produced over-the-top (OTT) originals such as Koffee With Karan (on Disney+ Hotstar), Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives (Netflix), and Call Me Bae (Amazon Prime Video).

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to partner with one of the most iconic production houses in our nation, along with my friend Karan Johar. We hope to build and grow Dharma and scale even greater heights in the years to come," Poonawalla had said in a statement announcing the deal. Mint has reached out to him for a comment but had not received a response at the time of publishing.

While the development may have taken the general public by surprise, industry insiders did not bat an eyelid. "Dharma was out in the market for a while. The studio was looking to raise money considering how some of its recent films have fared (not well) and how streaming services are turning cold," a senior movie producer told Mint, on condition of anonymity.

Music label Saregama India Ltd was reportedly in talks to acquire a majority stake in the Bollywood film production house, and conglomerate Reliance Industries, too, had evinced interest. Eventually, it was vaccine tycoon Poonawalla who pulled the trigger and inked a deal.