15 years ago today… Revisiting ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’
Release date: 16th October 1998
Director: Karan Johar
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Anupam Kher, Archana Puran Singh, Farida Jalal, Salman Khan, Sana Saeed
Exactly 15 years ago today, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was released to a grand box office opening marking Karan Johar’s directorial debut, showing to the Bollywood industry that he was here to stay. The film had the audience on an emotional rollercoaster and had scenes which are still re-enacted to this day in current cinema.
‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was a story about three friends, Rahul Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan), Anjali Sharma (Kajol) and Tina (Rani Mukerji). The film was in two halves, the first being on a college campus which looked at the relationships between the three characters whereas the second told the story of a widower’s young daughter who wanted to reunite her father with his true love. Rahul and Anjali are the most popular pair at St Xavier’s College, where Rahul is a heartbreaker and Anjali is a tomboy. When the Principal’s daughter Tina (Rani Mukerji) returns from London, Rahul falls for her which makes Anjali realise that she is in fact in love with him. After a lot of emotional turmoil, Anjali leaves after realising that Rahul will never love her and after college, Rahul and Tina get married. The second half was through the eyes of Rahul’s daughter, also aptly named Anjali (Sana Saeed) who through her mother’s letters, finds about how her parents came together. She sets off on a mission to reunite Rahul and Anjali, aided by the characters played by Anupam Kher and Farida Jalal.
What made ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ such a strong and powerful movie was that it was a simple storyline but with some very touching moments. It looked at relationships at different levels – from friendships to lovers – and played with the concept that you don’t always realise you have our one true love in front of you from the start. The college based part of the film was modelled on an American High School environment with the popular ones being in control and running the school. The second half was more on a traditional note with culture being interwoven into the storyline. Director Karan Johar told the story of the film from the heart and despite it being his debut film, he told it with finesse. There were some truly magical moments in so many scenes from Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol dancing in the rain to the little boy at camp begging Kajol not to leave.
There were some wonderful songs from the film too with each track marking its presence in the world of Bollywood music till now. The songs are all still being played over and over again on the radiowaves. This is a truly touching film with some fantastic actors and music.
We, at BizAsia, congratulate ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ for its 15 year anniversary and give a big thanks to Karan Johar, without who this story would never have reached us!
Post time 11-10-2013 02:01 PM
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