Product Code Database
Karan Kumar Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo, is an Indian filmmaker, producer and television personality who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several successful actors and filmmakers under his company Dharma Productions. The recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards, he has been honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2020.
The son of producer Yash Johar, he made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy-drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which earned him the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment (as director), the Filmfare Award for Best Director and the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay. His next films, the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and the musical romantic drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), were both major commercial successes in both domestic and overseas markets. His social drama My Name Is Khan (2010) earned him his second Filmfare Award for Best Director. Johar produced the spy thriller Raazi (2018) and the biopic Shershaah (2021), both of which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Film, with the latter also earning him the National Film Award – Special Jury Mention as producer. Later, as producer of the fantasy film (2022), he won the inaugural National Film Award for Best Film in AVGC. Johar returned to directing with the romantic comedy-drama Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023), which earned him another National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. He then went on to produce the drama Homebound (2025), which was chosen as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. These, along with other films he has directed or produced under his company, have established him as one of the leading filmmakers in Hindi cinema.
Johar has also ventured into other avenues of the entertainment industry. He hosts a television talk show, Koffee with Karan since 2004, a dating show What the Love! and a radio show Calling Karan, and appeared as a judge on competition reality shows Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and India's Got Talent.
He began his career as a child actor, playing Shrikant in the 1989 Doordarshan serial Indradhanush, and was influenced by Raj Kapoor, Yash Chopra, and Sooraj Barjatya. He briefly followed numerology for film titles but stopped after watching Lage Raho Munna Bhai.
Johar has publicly discussed his sexual orientation, stating, "Everybody knows what my sexual orientation is," and in February 2017, he became a father to twins, son Yash and daughter Roohi, via surrogacy. He named his son after his father, Yash Johar, and his daughter after his mother, Hiroo Johar.
In 2020, following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, Johar faced criticism and allegations of promoting nepotism in Bollywood, particularly regarding casting of star children. Johar defended his casting choices, highlighting the number of debut directors and outsider talents introduced by his production house.
He made his own directorial debut with the romantic comedy-drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). The first half of the film centers on a college love triangle between an insensitive boy (Shah Rukh Khan), his tomboyish best friend (Kajol), and the prettiest girl at the college (Rani Mukerji), while the second half centers on the now-widowed boy's attempt to reconnect with his best friend who is now engaged to marry a businessman (Salman Khan). The film emerged as a major blockbuster at the box-office and received positive reviews from critics. Writing for PlanetBollywood.com, critic Anish Khanna commented that "Johar makes an impressive directorial debut, has a good script sense, and knows how to make a film with S-T-Y-L-E." It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. It swept most of the major awards at the 44th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and all four acting awards.
Johar achieved his breakthrough with the ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001). The film starred Amitabh Bachchan as an egotistical rich industrialist, Jaya Bachchan as his compassionate wife, and Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan as their two sons. It also featured Kajol and Kareena Kapoor as sisters from a lower-class family who become the love interests of Khan and Roshan respectively. The film emerged as Johar's second consecutive major blockbuster at the box-office and received positive reviews from critics. Critic Taran Adarsh commented that Johar "confirms the fact that he is the brightest in film firmament. The premise of is simple, but it is the storytelling that deserves the highest marks." Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Johar's next directorial venture was the social drama My Name Is Khan (2010), his first film not written by him. The plot follows a Muslim man with Asperger's syndrome and his Hindu wife, played by Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, who live in San Francisco and face racial prejudice after 11 September attacks. The film emerged as Johar's fourth consecutive major blockbuster in both domestic and overseas markets, and received rave reviews from critics who praised Johar's unconventional directorial style. Critic Subhash K. Jha wrote that the film "is a flawless work, as perfect in content, tone, and treatment as any film can get." My Name Is Khan won Johar his second Filmfare Award for Best Director.
Johar then teamed up with Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, and Dibakar Banerjee for Bombay Talkies (2013), an anthology film released to celebrate the centenary year of Hindi cinema. Each of these directors made one short film to contribute to the large anthology. The plot of Johar's film followed a magazine editor (Rani Mukerji) who discovers that her husband (Randeep Hooda) is gay after an interaction with an intern at her office (Saqib Saleem). The film did not perform well at the box-office, but earned positive reviews from critics, with major praise for Johar's segment earning him a nomination for the Queer Palm award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Johar's next directorial venture was the musical romantic drama Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). The film featured Ranbir Kapoor as a man dealing with an unrequited love for his best friend, played by Anushka Sharma. It also featured Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as an older woman who engages in a brief relationship with Kapoor's character, and Fawad Khan as the love interest of Sharma's character. The film emerged as his fifth major blockbuster at the box-office and received positive reviews from critics, who called it "Johar's most grown-up film yet." Ae Dil Hai Mushkil earned him his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. Johar teamed up again with Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, and Dibakar Banerjee for Lust Stories (2018), an anthology film released on Netflix that served as a follow-up to Bombay Talkies. The film was praised for its exploration of female sexuality, a subject rarely dealt with in Indian films. Johar's segment revolved around a newly married schoolteacher (Kiara Advani) whose husband (Vicky Kaushal) fails to recognize her lack of sexual satisfaction.
In 2020, he reteamed with Banerjee, Akhtar and Kashyap for the Horror film anthology film Ghost Stories, the sequel to Lust Stories. Ghost Stories premiered on Netflix on 1 January 2020. His segment in the film told the story of a newly-married woman (Mrunal Thakur) and her experience with her husband's (Avinash Tiwary) post-traumatic stress disorder. Unlike its predecessors, it received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics upon release.
In July 2021, it was announced that Johar would direct a romantic comedy family drama instead, titled Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. The film starred Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Ranveer Singh, and Alia Bhatt in lead roles. It was released on 28 July 2023 and emerged as a critical and commercial success, ranking as the seventh highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year. The film earned Johar several awards including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
On his 52nd birthday in 2024, Johar announced that his next directorial, set to release in the second half of 2025.
He made his full-fledged acting debut alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in Anurag Kashyap’s period drama Bombay Velvet (2015), in which he played the main antagonist. Although the film did not perform well at the box-office, Johar earned mixed-to-positive reviews for his performance. Critic Sarita A. Tanwar commented, "The only consolation in the film is Johar who brings a lot of dignity to the character of Khambatta... which is commendable since this is totally outside his comfort space." Johar has worked as a costume designer for Shah Rukh Khan on many films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Duplicate (1998), Mohabbatein (2000), Main Hoon Na (2004), Veer-Zaara (2004), and Om Shanti Om (2007).
Johar is the host of Koffee with Karan, a talk show where he interviews actors, directors, producers, and other prominent members of the Hindi film industry. The series has run intermittently since 2004, with eight seasons . Since 2012, he has served as a judge on the reality shows Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (with Madhuri Dixit and Remo D’Souza), India's Got Talent (with Malaika Arora Khan, Kirron Kher, and Farah Khan) and India's Next Superstars (with Rohit Shetty). In January 2022, he appeared as a judge on the Colors TV's show along with Mithun Chakraborty and Parineeti Chopra.
Johar is also an investor in an AI-led adtech influencer marketing platform Konfluence. The company had raised a pre-series funding of $4 million as of 8 February 2022.
In 2024, Johar invested in the , a venture studio supporting fashion and lifestyle startups in India.
| 1998 | Kuch Kuch Hota Hai | ||||
| 2001 | Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham | ||||
| 2003 | Kal Ho Naa Ho | ||||
| 2005 | Kaal | ||||
| 2006 | Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna | ||||
| 2008 | Dostana | ||||
| 2009 | Wake Up Sid | ||||
| Kurbaan | |||||
| 2010 | My Name Is Khan | ||||
| I Hate Luv Storys | |||||
| We Are Family | |||||
| 2012 | Agneepath | ||||
| Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu | |||||
| Student of the Year | |||||
| 2013 | Bombay Talkies | Segment: "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" | |||
| Gippi | |||||
| Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani | |||||
| Gori Tere Pyaar Mein | |||||
| 2014 | Hasee Toh Phasee | ||||
| 2 States | |||||
| Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania | |||||
| Ungli | |||||
| 2015 | All India Bakchod Knockout | ||||
| Brothers | |||||
| Shaandaar | |||||
| 2016 | Kapoor & Sons | ||||
| Baar Baar Dekho | |||||
| Ae Dil Hai Mushkil | |||||
| Dear Zindagi | |||||
| 2017 | Ok Jaanu | ||||
| Badrinath Ki Dulhania | |||||
| Ittefaq | |||||
| 2018 | Lust Stories | 4 segment | |||
| Raazi | |||||
| Dhadak | |||||
| Simmba | |||||
| 2019 | Kesari | ||||
| Kalank | |||||
| Student of the Year 2 | |||||
| Drive | |||||
| Good Newwz | |||||
| 2020 | Ghost Stories | 4 segment | |||
| Guilty | |||||
| 2021 | Shershaah | ||||
| Meenakshi Sundareshwar | |||||
| Sooryavanshi | |||||
| Ajeeb Daastaans | |||||
| Searching for Sheela | Documentary | ||||
| 2022 | Gehraiyaan | ||||
| Jugjugg Jeeyo | |||||
| Liger | |||||
| Govinda Naam Mera | |||||
| 2023 | Selfiee | ||||
| Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani | |||||
| Kill | |||||
| 2024 | Yodha | ||||
| Ae Watan Mere Watan | |||||
| Mr. & Mrs. Mahi | |||||
| Bad Newz | music video | ||||
| Jigra | |||||
| 2025 | Nadaaniyan | ||||
| '' | Punjabi language film | ||||
| Kesari Chapter 2 | |||||
| Aap Jaisa Koi | |||||
| Sarzameen | |||||
| Dhadak 2 | |||||
| Homebound | |||||
| Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari | |||||
| Also assistant director | |||
| Uncredited | |||
| Himself | Cameo | ||
| Himself | |||
| Passenger on the train | |||
| Himself (voice) | |||
| Himself | |||
| Himself | |||
| Himself | |||
| Himself | |||
| Client | |||
| Himself | |||
| Himself | |||
| Double role | |||
| Cameo in song "Aankh Maarey" | |||
| Cameo in song | |||
| 2024 | Himself | Documentary | |
| 2025 | Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari | Himself |
| Host | Reality show | |||
| Judge | ||||
| Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa | ||||
| India's Got Talent | ||||
| Dil Hai Hindustani | ||||
| India's Next Superstars | ||||
| Host | ||||
| Bigg Boss OTT 1 | Host | |||
| Television special | ||||
| 2020–present | Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives | Guest | Reality show; also executive producer | |
| 2022 | The Fame Game | Executive producer | ||
| Bigg Boss 16 | Host | () | ||
| 2023 | Bigg Boss 17 | Host | Reality show; () | |
| 2024 | Showtime | Executive producer | ||
| Love Storiyaan | Documentary; executive producer | |||
| Gyaarah Gyaarah | Executive producer | |||
| Call Me Bae | ||||
| The Tribe | Reality show; executive producer | |||
| 2025 | Do You Wanna Partner | Executive producer | ||
| The Ba***ds of Bollywood | Himself | Cameo | ||
|
|
