25 years of experience!Karan Johar Interview: There was a kind of naivety in me when I made this film | Hindi Film News

as Kuchikuchi hota hai (KKHH) celebrates its 25th anniversary and in a chat with BT, Karan Johar reminisces about the film that launched his directorial career in Bollywood. The filmmaker talks about how he came to make this film and the love and criticism he’s received for it over the years.
You said in an interview that you started working on KKHH when Dharma Productions had backed five or six films but they didn’t work out. At such a time, what gave you the confidence to do your best in making your debut as a film director? Director of such a big movie?
After his father’s (Yash Johar) first film Dostana (1980), he had a series of films that were not commercially successful. I have seen the difficult times he went through and the financial losses we faced.
Actually, Yash’s uncle (Yash Chopra), who I consider to be like a father figure, asked me to direct his banner film. But when I went home and told his father about it, he said, “Since you are my son, I wish you would direct (the film) for Dharma Productions.” I asked him if he could afford it. He trusted me and said he would give me a loan. He also said, “Karan, we will try our best, but worst case scenario, even if the film doesn’t do well, I don’t want you to keep doing things that keep failing.That’s all I ask for.” ” That was the advice he gave me. My father was a very loved man in the industry and everyone wanted this film to work for his father. It wasn’t about me. When this film made money, we bought our first house in Mumbai. I saw my father smile for the first time in years when a movie was released!
In a country so obsessed with cricket, why did you choose basketball to portray the key emotions and scenes in the film?
We wanted a sport that was interactive and looked sexy when two people were playing close together. It couldn’t be cricket, soccer, table tennis or badminton, it had to be basketball. Because you play it in a way that actually becomes intimate between two people. Remember the scene in the second half where Anjali (Kajol) wears a saree for the match and Rahul (SRK) wears a shirt and tie? There’s something sexy about it. Yes, that’s the only reason, otherwise I wouldn’t have known anything about basketball as a sport. We were shooting in Mauritius and Shah Rukh took me aside and corrected me and said, “Karan, there are a lot of people actually laughing at you because it’s called ‘basketball.’ There’s…” Scoring a basket doesn’t mean you’ve scored a goal. This isn’t football.”
Although the film appealed to a large audience, it has also faced criticism over the years. Some people think this movie is too shallow and superficial, but in fact, sometimes you’ve laughed at the memes and jokes surrounding it. How do you see that in 25 years?
Of course, I’m keeping everything in order. I feel that ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ is the result of my passion for Hindi cinema and what I grew up with. When I made this film, I was young and not very evolved. I didn’t know what I was today. My wake-up meter was at zero, so the gender politics are very questionable in this movie. True, it may seem superficial, and there are also logical loopholes. Now you won’t make that mistake. I recently did a film like Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani and it was praised for its wokeness. I didn’t have this level of maturity at the time. They had different sensibilities than me, but they grow over time. I made it with a different mindset and I have no regrets. But I completely agree with that criticism. I would also like to add that there was a certain kind of innocence in which I made his Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It was never made with malicious intent.

From “KKHH” and “Kabhi Arvida Na Kehna” to “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” and “Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani”, all these films have the youthful vibe of They have one thing in common: romance, intense love, and heartbreak. Have you personally experienced any of these themes or emotions?
Each of these movies is my growth as a person. When I did Kabi Alvida…I was 31 years old, and at that time I had seen enough of life. I’ve seen people struggle with relationships. This film grew out of many conversations I had with married friends at the time and people I watched from afar dealing with relationship trauma. Ae Dil… is a part of my own heart. It was a personal movie for me, as I felt like I lost in the story of unrequited love. Rocky Aur Rani… is because of the many young people who surround me every day. It’s about their ideas about gender fluidity and equality and what true feminism is. I was able to leverage my observations and relationships and always create a story around them. I believe that life gives us the best stories, and that a strongly guided life will always give us great stories. All you have to do is open your mind and heart to those stories and you’ll always be a contemporary filmmaker.

Talking about his relationship with Mr. Curran shah rukh khan
“I was working as an ad in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ and that’s where Shah Rukh and I became friends. I was already close to Kajol as we had grown up together. Shah Rukh and I naturally got very close to each other, and he almost got close to each other. “It’s the same with my brother. When I wanted to make my first film, he was very close to being a part of it. was a natural. Whenever I made my first movie, he told me he wanted to do it, and he did exactly what he said. “I promise you that. As a result, it’s not just a director-actor relationship, we’ve become a family. It’s not just the legacy of love that we created cinematically, but the legacy of love that we all have as human beings. Our heritage is also each other.”

Karan on casting Rani Mukerji

“Rani was worried because Shah Rukh-Kajol are an iconic pair and they had a legendary film called Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. I asked Rani to trust me. “And she’s been a member since day one. She always says she’s very grateful.” “In ‘Ghulam’ her voice was dubbed, so we changed her voice. I always found her voice incredibly unique, and I didn’t want to change that.”

KKHH – Rapid Fire

Favorite scene from ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’…

The moment when Shah Rukh and Kajol reunited after several years at a summer camp. There’s this awkwardness and a sad version of the song plays in the background. At that moment, they make their characteristic gestures in a very unpleasant way. They don’t know what to say or how to say it. It’s the most beautiful and disturbing moment I’ve created on screen.

Anjali or Tina…what is your favorite character?

That’s difficult. How should I answer? It’s like asking me to choose between Yash and Ruhi, I can’t choose!

If you were to remake “KKHH” with a lot of young actors, what would happen to the casting?

I think it’s an irreplaceable cast, but if you were to put me in a hypothetical situation, I think Alia would be a great Anjali. Maybe Janhvi (Kapoor) or Ananya (Pandey) would make a great Tina. Rahul is tough…maybe Ranveer Singh.