Bollywood director Karan Johar recently marked the 25th anniversary of his directorial debut, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', starring Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Kajol. While the film has retained its cult status and continues to be adored by fans, KJo has candidly revealed his evolved perspective on the film's gender politics and a famous Shah Rukh Khan dialogue that now seems politically incorrect.
In a conversation with Nikhil Taneja on "Be A Man Yaar," Karan Johar openly admitted that the gender politics portrayed in 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' are fundamentally flawed. He pointed out that the character played by Shah Rukh Khan in the film initially favored the hot girl, portrayed by Rani Mukerji, over Kajol's character, who was labeled as not "hot." This portrayal, he says, sends a problematic message about love and attraction. Karan expressed that he would never want to replicate such gender politics today.
Reflecting on his mindset when making the film, Karan noted that at that time, he was heavily influenced by Hindi cinema and was not yet aware of gender politics in the real world. He confessed that he initially misunderstood stalking as a form of romance, but his perception changed when he comprehended the real-life implications and dangers of such behaviour.
Karan Johar also playfully criticised a famous dialogue delivered by Shah Rukh Khan in the movie, "Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai... aur pyar ek baar hi hota hai" (We live once, die once, and marry once...and fall in love once). He found this line paradoxical given that Shah Rukh Khan's character, Rahul, ultimately gets married twice and falls in love twice in the story. Nonetheless, Karan emphasised the importance of conviction in storytelling and how it can guide a narrative to a satisfying conclusion.
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