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74 << Industrial Identity in an Era of Reform

A page from the website of Dharma Productions, a family-owned company. The narrative
offered here and in other sections of the website positions Karan Johar within long-stand-
ing social networks in the Bombay film industry.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was no fluke, we are told, as Karan Johar went on
to script, produce, and direct Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G, 2001), a
film that broke several box-office records and “featured a line-up of Indian
megastars across generations.” K3G was nothing short of a “casting coup” as
the film brought together “industry stalwarts Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya
Bachchan, contemporary megastars Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, and current
heartthrobs Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor.” Accompanied by a pic-
ture that shows Karan Johar sitting beside his father on the sets of a film, lis-
tening attentively, this narrative firmly embeds the young producer-director
within the industry’s social network.
Of course, the capacity to tap into long-standing social and kinship rela-
tions is only one dimension and predictor of success. The profile also works
to establish Karan Johar’s directorial and writing skills by tracking the many
awards and accolades that both Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and K3G won at film
festivals in India and, perhaps even more significantly, across Europe and
in prestigious settings such as the Cannes Film Festival. This move beyond
the “national” is framed not only in terms of Dharma Productions films’
diaspora-centric narratives and screenings at international film festivals but
also, crucially, in relation to distribution. K3G, the profile points out, “was