Filmmaker and head honcho of Dharma Productions, Karan Johar's film Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, was released in theatres on September 26, 2025. The film stars Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa, and Janhvi Kapoor. Despite positive word-of-mouth reviews and movie critics applauding the film's storyline and Vishal–Ishaan's performances, the film failed to garner numbers at the box office.
Many reviewers and trade analysts debated that the low numbers were due to the limited number of screens allotted to the film, unlike Karan Johar's commercial film like Sunny Sankari Ki Tulsi Kumari, which had far more screens and better time-slot availability.
Several also argued that Homebound should have taken a direct OTT route to reach a wider audience.
Although the film didn't perform well at the Bollywood box office, it has been selected as India's official entry for the Oscars 2026 in the Best International Feature category.
Karan Johar emphasised that profitability has now become a major factor in his filmmaking decisions. He stated that while the film was praised by critics worldwide, it didn't attract enough Indian audiences, leading to financial losses.
With Adar Poonawalla now holding a 50 per cent stake, Dharma Productions is set to continue producing major films, but with a stronger emphasis on commercial viability.
As the video of Karan Johar went viral, netizens slammed him for not backing Homebound after its box office failure.
Karan Johar has now broken his silence after facing massive criticism for his recent comments on Homebound.
Karan Johar reacts to social media chatter over his remark, 'Will not make another movie like Homebound again.'
Taking to Instagram Stories, Karan Johar issued a clarification, he wrote, "I humbly request my friends and members in the media to not misconstrue or misquote my comments on our film Homebound... it was an academic chat on the business of our movies... I am and will always be exceptionally proud of Homebound... it will always shine in our repertoire of films as one of our finest and most sensitively performed and directed films..."
How did it all start?
During his conversation with Komal Nahta's YouTube show 'Game Changers Karan Johar said, "Maine abhi ek film banayi he Homebound, which is very critically acclaimed and we are hoping it finds its limited audience lekin aisi decisions shayad mein future loonga ya nahi loonga ye main aaj nahi keh sakta... bohot dukh hoga lekin I chose this deal for a reason. Profitability dikhana bohot zaruri hai (Now we will take only take those decisions which are profitable because that is important. I made Homebound now but I am not sure if I can take that decision again in the future. Of course it will pain me but we need to show profitability."
Karan Johar Dharma Productions holds a 50% stake with Adar Poonawala. Johar reassured that the company remains stable and that he continues to have control alongside CEO Apoorva Mehta, with growth and profitability now key priorities.
