25 Years in the Making

An ode to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and its impact on Bollywood

By Abhijit Masih

It does hit you. Twenty-five years, and yet you remember it like it was yesterday—each and every frame and dialogue of the film you have vivid memories of where you watched it and who you watched it with. The directorial debut of a young Karan Johar, who to his credit and perhaps the reputation of his filmmaker father, managed a casting coup by signing megastars like Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, and Salman Khan for his first film. One of the blockbuster hits of 1998, the film had all the right ingredients in the right proportions with a heavy dose of contemporary chic.

Then the future rising stars of the film, 25 years later have become stalwarts of the Indian film industry. Shahrukh— the Badshah of Bollywood gave the biggest blockbuster of all time with Pathaan this year and is currently excited for his daughter’s forthcoming debut film—The Archies. Karan Johar has become one of the biggest producers with his company Dharma Films backing mega budget movies. The talented Kajol is still on top of her game and has just released a web series and Rani Mukherjee while still doing lead roles in films also runs Yash Raj Films with her husband Aditya Chopra.

It may seem strange that the young bunch of actors, fresh faces essaying the roles of college kids in the film, now rule Bollywood. While the movie and its cast gear up to celebrate the silver anniversary of the film we try and put a finger on some of the things that made us fall in love with the film.

What pops up first is the lead pair and the on-screen chemistry between Shahrukh and Kajol. Be it DDLJ, My Name is Khan, or Dilwale the on-screen romance of Shahrukh and Kajol is beyond compare. The other reason would be the spectacular debut of Rani Mukherjee holding her own against the talented duo of Shahrukh and Kajol. Then there were the two sides of Anjali portrayed by Kajol— one the bumbling tomboy in the first half of the film and later the coy and demure Anjali that turns friendship into something deeper.

It was the directorial debut of Karan Johar who was trying to come out of the shadow of his father and on his own terms. Even as a 21 year old he did not let his young ideas be influenced by the experience of his father. The music still finds a special place in your playlists. Perhaps, one of the best works by Jatin-Lalit, who gave two of the best songs—Tum Paas Aaye and Ladki Badi Anjani.

Most of all, the film focused on varied relationships which have become the mainstay of all Karan Johar movies. Whether it is the friendship between Rahul and Anjali or the father-daughter bond between Rahul and the young Anjali, the portrayals were treated with simple maturity.

The film has remained etched in the memories of fans for multiple reasons and will continue to do so as an evergreen classic.

3 Film Facts:

-Kajol got seriously injured during the shooting of the song “Yeh Ladka Hai Deewana.” She fell from her bike during the sequence and lost consciousness, an incident that was bad enough for Kajol to temporarily lose her memory.

-Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is based on the much popular Archie comics about fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, and Veronica Lodge.

-Salman Khan and Kajol were not in talking terms while shooting “ Saajanji Ghar Aaye.”