Nikkhil Advani explains how Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan starrer 'Kal Ho Naa Ho’ was called 'bubble gummy film'

Bollywood filmmaker Nikkhil Advani is no stranger to polarized reactions. More than two decades after his debut reshaped mainstream Hindi cinema, he continues to draw scrutiny for the choices he makes as a storyteller. With Season 2 of ‘Freedom at Midnight’ now streaming, Advani is once again at the center of debate, addressing criticism head-on while insisting that backlash has never dictated his creative decisions. Advani also opened up on how 'Kal Ho Na Ho' was perceived at the time of its release, which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan.

Nikkhil Advani on creative intent over aesthetics

In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Advani spoke about the visual language of ‘Freedom at Midnight’, which returned for its second season on SonyLiv on January 9. Responding to criticism that the show looks too glossy for its subject, he rejected the charge outright.




“Whether it is glossy or not, I just decided that I don’t,” Advani said. He contrasted it with his earlier work. “I had done ‘Mumbai Diaries’, which was extremely dark and gritty. There are parts which most people say we could not even see. It’s so dark.” He explained that the team chose ‘The Crown’ as a visual reference and avoided heavy VFX. “We shot on 86 sets. When you do a period show of this scale, you don’t want to go to a rundown, badly maintained 1940 ka building and then do everything on VFX.”

History, backlash, and perspective

The show is adapted from the 1975 book ‘Freedom at Midnight’ by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins. Advani said he never worried about its perspective being questioned. “They are in the book, and the book has been in publication since 1975,” he said. “What is indisputable are the events that have taken place.” He added that the tagline sums it up. “The history you may not know, the history you should know.”

Advani also reflected on facing criticism since ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’. “I have got brickbacks for ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’. People said, what is this, it’s such a bubble gummy film,” he said. “You can’t make work thinking about who will be offended.”

Advani believes long-form storytelling has strengthened his confidence. “Failure of ‘Patiala House’ and success of ‘D-Day’ allowed me to create my own production company,” he said, adding that he learned creative freedom from his time at Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films.

As conversations around AI grow louder, Advani remains cautious. “AI is here, it’s not going anywhere,” he said. “We have to figure out how to use it correctly.”

Nikkhil Advani says he still puts creative intent first, not public approval, and he has followed that approach since the start of his career. ‘Freedom at Midnight’ Season 2 is now streaming on SonyLIV with seven episodes.

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