Alia Bhatt as Anjali, Ranveer Singh as Rahul, Ananya Panday plays Tina: Karan Johar on his dream cast if KKHH was made again

Karan Johar recently shared that if he had to remake Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with today's actors, he would cast Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh as Anjali and Rahul. "Any of the nepo babies can be Tina", said Karan.

Karan Johar's dream cast for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 2. (Photo: IMDb/Ananya Panday)

In 1980, Karan Johar’s father, Yash Johar, turned producer with Raj Khosla’s Dostana, marking the first film under his banner, Dharma Productions. The film became the highest-grossing Bollywood release of the year, establishing a promising start for the company. However, the success was short-lived. Despite producing films like Duniya, Muqaddar Ka Faisla, and Agneepath starring Amitabh Bachchan, none managed to perform well at the box office, leaving Dharma Productions struggling.

During this challenging phase, the production house collaborated with Mahesh Bhatt on Gumrah and Duplicate, which met with moderate success. But it was in 1998 that Dharma Productions found its turning point — when a 26-year-old Karan Johar made his directorial debut with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji. The film became a phenomenal blockbuster, reviving the studio and cementing its place in Bollywood. The success was followed by Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, the company stands at a valuation of Rs 2,000 crore.

Nearly three decades later, Karan was asked who he would cast as the modern-day Rahul, Anjali, and Tina if Kuch Kuch Hota Hai were to be remade today. In a conversation with Sania Mirza for Myntra’s Glam Stream, Karan said, “I think Alia [Bhatt] would be an absolutely great Anjali. I think Ranveer Singh would be a great Rahul, and Ananya [Panday] would be a great Tina.”

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To this, Sania quipped, “And none of them would actually be acting that much,” to which Karan laughed and said, “I think it would be a great pairing.”

Karan then added with a grin, “I think Tina could be Ananya [Panday], Janhvi [Kapoor], Sara [Ali Khan] — it could be any of the younger nepo babies.”

Amused by the comment, Sania asked, “Have you ever launched someone because their parents told you to?” Karan responded firmly, “No. I knew their parents, but no parent ever called me and said, ‘Launch my kid.’ Never. Not once.”

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When Sania noted that many people might not believe him because of his image, Karan clarified, “I know they are nepo babies. I know their parents. I’ve seen them grow up in front of me. But none of their parents have ever called me — I have always been the one to call. And let me tell you, I’ve even been refused a few times.”

Karan, however, has not directed any of the new generation nepo babies. Ananya, Janhvi and Sara, however, appeared briefly in his recent directorial film Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani for the song “Heart Throb.”

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