Karan Johar reveals he did not see Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with the audience in India: ‘We had some threatening calls at that time, my parents and I had to fly out’

The filmmaker elaborated, “We had some threatening calls at that time. So my parents and I had to fly out on the opening night for security purposes. So I never saw the film back home at all. I used to just have friends who would call me and put the phone towards the audience when Salman enters or any big moment in the film. And I would have tears coming down because I wasn’t there and couldn’t see it.”

 

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While Karan Johar went to London theatres to watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he said the reaction wasn’t as heartwarming as the Indian audience’s. “So I went to see it in London a couple of times. But it just didn’t feel the same. It’s sad that I’ve not seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with an audience in my country.”

For the filmmaker, whose directorials have always garnered commercial success, winning awards for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai continues to the most memorable moment.

“When I came back after six weeks, it was the award season time. And winning those awards. I remember holding that first Filmfare award, and I couldn’t breathe. I don’t think I can describe that moment because as a child, you’ve always imagined being on that stage, winning that award, seeing your dreams come true. We all have dreams, right? We all want to go somewhere with our lives. This was an impossible dream in my head. And when it came true, I was like I don’t think it gets better than this. And I just had to be grateful to the universe for everything that happened. Because when I see the trajectory, I’m like I don’t know how this happened. I was not meant to be here. Aditya Chopra convinces me. Shah Rukh Khan does the film. Kajal does the film. Salman Khan does the film. Rani Mukherjee does the film. The film gets made,” said Karan.

Karan Johar further said that he can’t decode the success of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai but credits its success to his love for cinema.

The filmmaker said, “I really don’t know how things happened. I don’t have the answer if you ask me how the story came to me or any of that. I can’t give you any explanation. It was also just a lot of my love for Hindi cinema. There’s so much of Yash Chopra in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. There’s so much of Sooraj Barjatya. There’s so much of Raj Kapoor. So many influences I’ve had as a kid. For me, that film was like one big dream.”