“There Was No Logic Or Backstory’’, Karan Johar On His Film ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’

Karan Johar’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ may have been engrained as one of Bollywood’s iconic, romantic movie in the romantic movie chart, but fast-forward 2019 and the filmmaker has things to say about his own ‘iconic’ 1998 movie. Sitting down with Mid-Day, the filmmaker,  talking about the love-triangle movie starred by Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji trio said that the main hero, Rahul, Shah Rukh’s character does not stand on his own right. 

 “Rahul doesn’t stand for very much. He’s a deeply confused character, doesn’t know what he wants and, really, didn’t do a lot much in the movie. Whatever happened to him was because there were people pushing him - his dead wife’s spirit, his eight-year-old daughter, and Anjali herself. What made him endearing was his charm, his large heart and Shah Rukh’s personal charisma.”

 “There was no logic or backstory to the characters. You don’t know what Shah Rukh, or anyone else, does for a living in the movie. And the eight letters - one for each birthday - made no sense, either’’ the filmmaker added.

Also reinstating the fact that Rahul has never been able to take a stand for himself but instead bashes Anjali right before her wedding, Karan added, “That’s not how I’d written the scene. In my original draft, Anjali tears into Rahul and calls him out. She says he doesn’t know how to stand up for himself. I threw out the scene because I thought it would cause a disservice to my leading man.”

 “Today, I’d keep it. Because now I understand, it’s what would make them more human. More real’’ Johar also added on how he would have made KKHH in today’s time.

As for taking the director’s seat, Johar’s work will be seen in the multi-starrer historical drama Takht, which will feature Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Anil Kapoor.