K Jo’s 4 Big Hopes in 2025: Revival or Collapse?

Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions is making aggressive bets on four big releases in 2025, each critical to the banner’s revival. Heading the slate is Akaal, a Punjabi period-action drama by Gippy Grewal, hitting screens on April 10.

The industry’s first-ever Punjabi outing by Dharma, the film has a countrywide Hindi release and an early buzz for its suspenseful climax, seeking to replicate the pan-India success of Baahubali.

Up next is Kesari: Chapter 2, releasing on April 18. It re-tells the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a courtroom drama. Though Akshay Kumar makes a return in a historical avatar, doubts surround his recent box-office performance.

Directed by Karan Singh Tyagi, the movie needs to present new storytelling in order to prevent rehashing previous flops like Selfiee, Khel Khel Mein etc.

Dhadak 2, which draws inspiration from Mari Selvaraj’s Tamil cinema, is uncertain. While Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri have talent, their lack of tested chemistry and the film’s delays have killed interest.

The wild card is Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari (SSKTK), the Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor rom-com directed by Shashank Khaitan. As a spiritual sequel to Badrinath Ki Dulhania, it will succeed only if it is able to repeat that film’s combination of humour, emotion, and hit music.

Overall, Dharma’s 2025 slate mixes risk and reward. These movies may either revive the studio’s tradition or further its recent slide in a ruthless cinematic environment.