Filmmaker and producer Karan Johar has never shied away from speaking his mind about the realities of the entertainment business, and this time, he’s taken aim at the industry’s shifting loyalties. In a recent conversation with Sarthak Ahuja of SCREEN, Karan opened up about the challenges of running a talent management agency.
Talent management, not a fairytale
Karan, who co-owns Dharma Cornerstone Agency (DCAA), said that most actors today lack professional loyalty. Without naming anyone, he remarked, “Every two years, people are shifting from one agency to another because they are so insecure that they feel we are time-bound. Nobody is loyal in this business; actors just keep hopping and skipping. So you put two years of your life into a talent and they suddenly move somewhere else — and then they don’t like it there and want to come back. This is a vicious circle.”
Karan also said that getting into talent management came naturally to him, explaining that most of the work revolves around understanding and managing people. “Ninety percent of this business is about handling people, egos, insecurities and it’s not easy,” he said. He also emphasised that “if you look at talent management as a business opportunity, nothing is going to happen.”
Reflecting on his long career, Karan added, “After being in the business for 31 years, I have become zen about success and failure because I feel like my joy and sorrow cannot be the result of my success and failure because then I will be in an ICU.”
‘Artists are nobodies’ without loyalty
Karan went further to say that agencies can’t rely only on commissions anymore and must look for equity-based partnerships with their talent. “Just commission on artists is going to give you nothing because artists are nobodies. They are absolutely nobodies, voh kisi ke nahi hain,” he said.
His remarks come months after Janhvi Kapoor left DCAA to join Collective Artists Network, sparking speculation about internal shifts within Dharma’s talent division. Currently, Karan’s agency represents names like Sara Ali Khan, Rohit Saraf, Shanaya Kapoor and Rasha Thadani.