Karan Johar reflects on the moment he was barred from viewing Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in his own country. Karan Johar has admitted that he missed the Indian premiere of his first directorial effort, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, the director said that he and his parents had to leave their home nation after receiving death threats. On Monday, the film’s stars—Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji—celebrated the movie’s silver anniversary.
Karan Johar recalled the release of his first picture and how he could not be in India to see how the public reacted.
Is there a particular reason Karan couldn’t attend the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai premiere in India?
Karan informed the entertainment website that he began creating movies on his 25th birthday when he shot the summer camp scene. Having the picture debut on October 16, 1998, was “just the most surreal moment of his entire life,” he said. “I wasn’t even around when it came out. At that time, we received several ominous phone calls. My family and I were forced to take a red-eye flight on the show’s first night due to security concerns. Thus, I was unable to view the film in my native country. When Salman appeared or there was another major event in the movie, my buddies would call me and hold the phone out to the crowd. And I’d feel so sad that I couldn’t see it”. He added that this ‘didn’t feel the same’ when he saw it in London.
He also mentioned that he had seen the film several times in London, but it just didn’t have the same effect on him. Karan regretted not having watched the movie with his audience in India. Six weeks after Karan’s return to India, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai had swept the awards season.
About acquiring all those honors
“My chest felt like it would explode when I held that first Filmfare trophy”, he said. He continued, saying that it was “an impossible dream” he experienced as a kid and beyond his ability to convey. He then expressed his appreciation to the cosmos for allowing this to occur.
The 1998 film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai won several accolades upon its premiere. The critical and public acclaim it got was similarly massive. Anupam Kher, Johny Lever, and Archana Puran Singh had significant parts in the film.
