'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's silver jubilee: Beloved film's interesting facts
Karan Johar's debut directorial and a film that has stayed with generations, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), is celebrating its silver jubilee on Monday. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji, it is one of the most iconic films of Hindi cinema, replete with an excellent soundtrack, high entertainment quotient, and re-watchability factor. Let's dig into some interesting facts about the modern-day classic.
Javed Akhtar almost penned lyrics, but then this happened
Legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar was the first choice for KKHH, but things didn't go as planned and Sameer bagged the project. Johar recently revealed, "Javed sahab had a problem with the title...we had a creative disagreement and he told me, 'I don't feel like I can write the lyrics of this film's songs,' and it was very amicable." However, Akhtar later regretted his decision.
Featured cameos/special appearances by several Bollywood personalities
While Salman Khan's role as Aman is the most iconic special appearance of KKHH and is widely loved, the film had its fair share of other cameos/special appearances. Celebrity designer-producer Manish Malhotra, choreographer Geeta Kapoor, leading '80s actor Neelam Kothari, director-choreographer Farah Khan, and director Nikkhil Advani were also part of KKHH. Johar continues the tradition of special appearances in his films even today.
It held unique record at Filmfare Awards for 2 decades
Not only did KKHH turn into a nationwide sensation, but it also swept several awards in 1998. It dominated the Filmfare Awards and won eight awards, four of which were the main acting awards: Best Actor (SRK), Best Actress (Kajol), Best Supporting Actor (Salman), and Best Supporting Actress (Mukerji). It was the only film to do so until Gully Boy (2019) broke the record.
Twinkle Khanna's connection to 'KKHH'
Twinkle Khanna, who has been friends with Johar since childhood, was the first choice for the film, and the character of Tina was sketched for her. Johar has also accepted that he was once, briefly, in love with Khanna. Khanna's husband Akshay Kumar once told Mid-Day, "She read the script, and she didn't understand it... She'd actually thrown the script and called it sh*t!"
Laid foundation for Johar's films starting with letter K
After the success of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Johar decided to stick to the letter K and worked on four successive titles starting with this letter: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., (directorial), Kal Ho Naa Ho (production), Kaal (production), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (directorial). Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and Kal Ho Naa Ho are considered among the most important and entertaining films of Bollywood.
