New Delhi, July 4 -- Apoorva Mehta had no idea that a seemingly ordinary day back in class VI at Greenlawns High School in south Mumbai was going to set the course for the rest of his life. A student from another section was transferred to his class. The principal asked who was willing to make friends with the new boy. Mehta put his hand up. Forty years on, they are still friends and run a film production house that has diversified into web shows, talent management and advertising, well known in Bollywood circles as Dharma Productions.

That boy was filmmaker Karan Johar, owner of Dharma, the company he inherited from his father Yash Johar, where Mehta has served as CEO for the past 20 years.

"For many people, their careers are happy acc...