It’s been 20 years since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai released and marked the directorial debut of Karan Johar. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the film, Dharma Productions has planned a huge celebration.
Karan feels like the movie happened just yesterday and says, “I remember each day of the shoot vividly. The memories of the film seem so fresh. I don’t really remember the experience of any other film as distinctly. Perhaps, it’s because it was the very first film that I worked on and not necessarily the best film that I have made in my career.”
Karan feels emotional about his debut film and knows he will not be able to make the same film again. He adds, ” “I just feel that I was a lot more innocent 20 years ago and I was completely convinced about the film, too. Today, I second-guess myself a lot more and I’m always overthinking. Those were the days of abandon and conviction and I feel they can never come back again.”
Karan’s father, the late Yash Johar, was an established film producer but even so, KKHH was a big risk in both their careers. Karan reveals, “It was a combination of excitement and fear. Excitement because I was working on my first film, but there was also the fear and concern for the prospects of the film. My father had gone through a daunting phase of producing movies that didn’t do too well at the box office, but here we were making a big-budget movie with a big star cast and it was just my first film. I had the pressure of having to deliver success and I had to do it for my father.”
On Kuch Kuch Hota Hai been the foundation of Dharma Productions, he says, ” Every film we make at Dharma, every decision we take, has been possible only because KKHH was a success.” He adds that KKHH was a milestone in the careers of Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji, too. He says, “It was a landmark film for so many careers. Shah Rukh and Kajol were already superstars when they worked in KKHH, but even then, the film has been one of the highlights of their careers. Rani started her journey with the film and it set her up for stardom, too.”
KKHH is celebrated for it’s fashion and music. Talking on this, Karan says, “The fashion and music of KKHH has been celebrated through the years, too. Karan reveals, “I owe a lot to Manish Malhotra for adding such a wonderful sartorial touch to the film. We used some bold colours and styles for the movie, the likes of which Hindi cinema had never seen before. To watch millennials and adults still swear by the styling and fashion of the film feels really good.”
