‘Gadar jaisi nahi hai’: Karan Johar recalls what Punjab distributor said after K3G emerged as a hit

Karan Johar looked back on the pressure that he was under prior to the release of Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham, when his father told him that they would have to move back into their old house if the film flops.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | October 17, 2023 01:08 PM IST

Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham faced off against Gadar.

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Filmmaker Karan Johar addressed the poor reviews that his 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham opened to, and the exact moment that he discovered that it was going to be a hit. Recalling a story that he first narrated in his autobiography, An Unsuitable Boy, Karan said that he was dejected by the reviews, but was told by distributor Anil Thadani to wait till the first Monday to understand if the film was actually working or not.

In an interview with Pinkvilla, Karan said that he only realised what a big hit K3G was when he was caught in a traffic jam caused by crowds thronging to purchase tickets for it. He leapt out of his car and began running towards the theatre, where Anil Thadani told him to call up all the state distributors. This is when Karan had a humorous conversation with the distributor from Punjab, who told him that even though the film was a hit, it was still not as big a hit as Gadar.

Also read | ‘Ranveer Singh is a chameleon, Deepika Padukone says a new person walks into her house every six months’: Karan Johar

But initially, he said, he was terrified of the possibility of the film flopping. “We had really bad reviews, everyone was like, ‘Old wine, new bottle’. I was really depressed when the film released.” On the first Saturday, Karan said that his friend took him to a psychic, following which he also made a ‘mannat’, and made a pilgrimage to a temple. But Anil Thadani told him to relax, and said, “Karan, are you going crazy? This is pre-Eid, just wait till Monday.” Karan was especially worried because his father had told him that if the film flops, they would have to move back into their old house.

On Monday, Karan discovered that the film was, in fact, a hit when he saw huge crowds outside the theatre booking tickets for the entire week. Anil Thadani told him, “Call all the distributors now, your film is a massive hit.” Karan added, “I called everybody. The Punjab distributor said, ‘Haan, bahut badi hit hai, par Gadar jaisi nahi hai‘ (It’s a hit, but not as big as Gadar).”

Released in the same year as the Sunny Deol-starrer, K3G emerged as the biggest hit of 2001 at the worldwide box office, even though Gadar made more in India. Other landmark Hindi films of 2001 were Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai and Chandni Bar. Incidentally, Karan faced off with Gadar 2 this year, with the sequel outperforming his new film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. At the Express Adda event in Mumbai recently, Karan applauded Gadar 2’s success, and said, “Gadar has blown everyone’s brains away because it was a film which was hugely successful in 2001, and now in 2023, it is breaking every record. I have been so glad for the single screens.”

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