Yash Johar Death Anniversary 2024: Celebrating the Legacy of Hindi Cinema’s Showman!

Legendary producer Yash Johar passed away on June 26, 2004, at the age of 74. In his celebrated career, he has backed some masterpieces. Be it the locations or songs, his films ticked all the boxes. As we celebrate the founder of Dharma Productions’s 30th death anniversary, let’s know a bit more about him.

Lesser-Known Facts

• Yash Johar began his career as a publicist and a still photographer in the 1950s and worked in the 1951 film Baadal starring Prem Nath and Madhubala.
• Later, he joined yesteryear’s superstar Sunil Dutt’s production house Ajanta Arts and worked as a production controller in films like Mujhe Jeene Do and Yeh Raastein Hain Pyaar Ke.
• He also worked for the late superstar Dev Anand’s Navketan International Films in films like Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967) and Prem Pujari (1970).
• In 1971, he got married to Hiroo Chopra, the sister of renowned filmmakers BR Chopra and Yash Chopra.
• In 1976, Yash Johar started his own production house, Dharma Productions. He made Hindi films that were known for their extravagant sets and exotic locations and were high on family drama.
• His first production was the 1980 film Dostana starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman, Prem Chopra and Amrish Puri in the lead roles and became a huge box-office success.
• After that, he produced numerous big films like Duniya (1984), Agneepath (1990), Gumrah (1993) and Duplicate (1998).
• In 1998, Yash Johar’s son Karan Johar made his directorial debut with the romantic drama film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan.
• The last film in which he was involved as a producer was the 2003 film Kal Ho Naa Ho starring SRK, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan.
• People from the Bollywood industry called him Tom Uncle, a nickname that SRK gave to Yash Johar.

Top Movies

1. DostanaReleased in 1980, Dostana was the first film under the Dharma Productions banner. Helmed by Raj Khosla, the film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman, Pran, Prem Chopra, Amrish Puri and Helen in lead roles.
2. AgneepathDirected by Mukul S Anand, the film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Mithun Chakraborty, Neelam Kothari and Danny Denzongpa in lead roles. Big B also won a National Film Award for her performance in the film. Karan Johar remade the film in 2012 as a tribute to his father which starred Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles.
3. GumrahStarring Sanjay Dutt, Sridevi and Anupam Kher, the film was directed by Mahesh Bhatt.
4. Kuch Kuch Hota HaiThe film marked Yash’s son Karan Johar’s directorial debut. Starring SRK, Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan, the film won a million hearts. As Rahul said, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, Anjali, Tum Nahi Samjhogi”.
5. Kal Ho Naa HoReleased in 2003, the film remains fans’ favourite, all thanks to its engaging storyline, music and outstanding performances by the cast. Helmed by Nikhil Advani and written by Karan Johar, the movie featured Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta.

Top Songs

1. Salaamat Rahe Dostana HamaraThe friendship song from Dharma Productions’ maiden film Dostana featured Amitabh Bachchan and Shatrughan Sinha.
2. Kal Ho Naa Ho Title TrackEven after almost 20 years of its release, the soulful song still feels fresh and is considered one of the best Bollywood songs ever.
3. Mere Mehboob Mere SanamShah Rukh Khan, Sonali Bendre and Juhi Chawla made this track, from the movie Duplicate, a much-loved one.
4. Suraj Hua MaddhamThe evergreen romantic track from the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham featured Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.
5. Saajan Ji Ghar AayeYou can still hear this track, from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, playing on the DJ at every other Indian wedding.