Back in 2006, ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ opened to a mixed reception, with much of the conversation and criticism centring on how the film handled the theme of infidelity. Two decades on, though, Karan Johar‘s directorial has earned cult status. As the film marks 20 years since its release, Karan looked back at the divided reactions it faced and shared that there was a point when he genuinely feared angry audiences might confront him physically.
Karan recalls attending a paid preview of ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’
In an emotional note shared on Instagram, the filmmaker looked back on a paid preview screening he attended the night before the film’s release. He wrote, “A night before Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna released, there was a paid preview in a cinema nearby. I went quietly to watch the film with an audience, and I was sitting behind a very traditionally dressed middle-aged couple (and for some reason they seemed angry and the anger was taken out on the poor popcorn they were chomping on!).“Karan went on to describe the scene where Dev (Shah Rukh Khan) and Maya (Rani Mukerji) finally act on their feelings for one another. “At one point in the film, Dev and Maya enter the elevator of a hotel and what proceeds is the two characters succumbing to their love and desire. At that point, Lady Saree looked at Sir Kurta in shock and dropped her popcorn. He turned back and said (in Gujarati), ‘Dream sequence che!’ When Sir Kurta realised it wasn’t a dream sequence, he looked at his wife angrily (who was now relishing her popcorn much more) and insinuated an immediate exit! They left the cinema and my heart sank,” he wrote.
An emotional encounter after Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’s release
Another encounter left Karan Johar even more rattled, as he recalled. “I stepped out with mixed feelings, and a lady and her crying daughter came up to me. I honestly thought she was moved by the movie. She asked, ‘Are you Karan Johar?’ I said yes, with fearful pride. She said, ‘I took my daughter to see a happy film with songs and dances and family values because it’s YOUR film. The DAY she got her DIVORCE, and this is what I saw!! Shame on you.‘ I was worried she may hit me, so I scurried away from her and encountered some more angry faces,” he wrote.The film went on to divide both audiences and critics sharply. Karan recalled being praised as bold on one hand and slammed for straying from “sanskaari” ideals on the other. “The film released to hugely polarising reviews and audience feedback… From being called brave, my best work to anti ‘sanskaari’ values and immense hate—I heard it all,” he wrote. A few weeks later, though, a chance meeting at an airport lounge changed his outlook. “I met a woman at an airport lounge a few weeks later (at this point I was ready to be assaulted at any given point of time). She said, ‘I loved your film… but I lied to my husband and told him I hated it.’ I was semi-relieved and asked why. She said, ‘If I told him I loved it he would have asked me what I liked about it… so it was safe to lie!'”
Karan reflects on Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’s legacy
Looking back at ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ after twenty years, Karan admitted the film wasn’t without its shortcomings but insisted its true intent was never really grasped by everyone. “I don’t deny the flaws of the film… It was over-bloated in scale and had opulent (and some unnecessary) songs to pander to my understanding of the mainstream… but I always felt it had its heart in the right place. I knew it was touching a raw nerve, a fact of life we as a society like to brush under our value-based carpets… a reality we don’t want thrown at us by our beloved movie stars and icons. The film did not endorse infidelity (that was never ever my intention) but it did show that stepping out of the boundary of marriage to seek love or desire can destroy your very foundation and family. A choice (with no judgement) only we need to make,” he wrote.Wrapping up his note, the filmmaker touched on how the film’s relevance has shifted over time, along with the audiences watching it. “Yes… each story is different, each circumstance is unique, every individual has their own reasons… but stories and movies are meant to make you think… or relate. KANK perhaps did that, and you can hate it or love it… it certainly didn’t make you feel indifferent to it,” he wrote. He mentioned that even now, two decades later, he frequently comes across people who say the film didn’t resonate with them back then but makes more sense to them today. Karan Johar closed the note by thanking the film’s cast and crew, saying he would “always be indebted to them for their passion and compassion.”
Karan Johar’s recent work
Meanwhile, Karan’s most recent directorial venture was ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’, which featured Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt in the lead roles, and he continues to produce a number of films through his banner, Dharma Productions.
