Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Completes 20 Years: We Bet These Lesser Known Anecdotes Will Make Your Day!

As Kuch Kuch Hota Hai completes 20 years today (phew, time flies and how!), we bring you some interesting tid-bits about this film which are PURE GOLD!

When Karan Johar's directorial debut, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' released in 1998, the film went on to became a smashing hit and eventually became a cult film over the years. From school kids to young adults, everyone fell in love with 'Pyaar dosti hain' and 'Hum ek baar jeete hai, ek baar marte hai, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hai...aur pyar ek baar hi hota hai'. The film made friendship bands, cool chains and basketball such a rage! While guys drooled over Shahrukh Khan's polo T-shirt, Anjali's short bob hair-style was such an 'in' thing back then!

As Kuch Kuch Hota Hai completes 20 years today (phew, time flies and how!), we bring you some interesting tid-bits about this film which are PURE GOLD!

How Karan Johar Came Up With The Idea Of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

How Karan Johar Came Up With The Idea Of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

The film director recalled, "It existed in various versions in my mind. I first wrote a story, which was a love triangle between a tomboy, a very pretty looking girl and a slightly insensitive boy but I was not very satisfied with it. So I kept it aside.

Then I thought of another plot about a widower and his child. Again, I was not very happy with that and so I kept it aside. Then I started work on a third idea but simply could not get things in place.

Suddenly it struck me: Why not blend the two stories and try and see if that would work? So that's what I did. I wove the two stories together and made it one.

It was about the trauma of a widower and his little child. How the child really wants a mother and how she brings her mother into her father's life. Then I thought: Why not bring an youth aspect to the story? Why not a flashback? That's how the story got made.

But, frankly I was not even thinking of making a film. Till Aditya Chopra told me: Don't be silly, you must make this film. It is a lovely story. It will work.

I was worried about the child aspect, whether Shahrukh would be accepted as a father. But that seems to have worked in my favour. People have loved him in a different kind of role."

Finding The Perfect Rahul

Finding The Perfect Rahul

KJo said, "I had seen Shahrukh as an obsessed lover in Darr and Baazigar and was keen to see him differently.

I got an idea when I saw this English film, Jack and Sara. It was about this widower whose wife had died leaving him with this child. That's when I was sure that I wanted to see Shahrukh like that. As a father.

Curiously, that was the time his wife got pregnant. That somehow entered his performance. He suddenly became aware of little children. More than he ever was. That was a charming coincidence. It helped in many ways. The film got the right feel."

Did You Know This Intriguing Story About This Film?

Did You Know This Intriguing Story About This Film?

"I have to tell you, onscreen and on paper, it was just considered a scene where Shah Rukh comes and pacifies Kajol and then Rani comes in as well, and then all three of them have a kind of a group hug situation and we move on.

I got some kind of a weird thought at that time - like what if he hugs Kajol and Rani wants to leave them for a moment and walk away, and he holds her hand.

Now, we debated this for over two hours and we were losing light and Santosh Sivan (DoP) was losing his perspective. The big debate was - is Shah Rukh coming across as too evil?

I think we overthought it because no one else gave it so much thought when the scene was finally played out.

But I remember debating this for 2 hours because my father kept looking at his watch because we were paying by the hour for this location. Those were the days we were a much poorer film economy. Shooting abroad was a huge deal."

The Laughter Tales

The Laughter Tales

KJo narrates, "I have to give you a little bit of trivia on Shahrukh Khan. Shahrukh Khan is possibly the finest actor I have ever worked with and is considered one of our leading movie stars and best actors.

But ask him to laugh in a scene, he can't do it. He finds it very difficult to laugh naturally on scene.

So we had many takes of just trying to make Shah Rukh laugh. It gets so exhausting that he laughs just out of exhaustion."

The Cost Of Shahrukh Khan's Polo T-shirt Was Around 90 Pounds!

The Cost Of Shahrukh Khan's Polo T-shirt Was Around 90 Pounds!

"I had bought this polo T-shirt for Shahrukh from London. I and Aditya Chopra had gone shopping for me. It cost 90 pounds that time, we stared at the T-shirt for hours and we said it's not worth it, it is very expensive.

My father thought I am mad to shop in London for the film. We stared at the shirt and put it down, stared at it and put it down. It was a tight T-shirt, actually a cycling T-shirt, but we liked the colour. We went back, slept over and thought about it.

Next morning we got up and bought that T-shirt. It was a life changing and altering decision for us. We actually bought the 90 pound T-shirt and thought lets sacrifice for Kajol and Rani's outfit. We will make them cheaper.

But little did I know that T-shirt would create an impact. I will tell you where I saw this impact. My doodh waala (milk man) was wearing the same T-shirt after the 3 weeks release of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'. That was actually a proud moment for me because it had created an impact," KJo recalled.

When Karan Johar Went Down On One Knee!

When Karan Johar Went Down On One Knee!

There is a hilarious story about how KJo had persuaded Salman Khan to wear a black suit for an engagement scene.

The film maker reveals, "I was like *waah waah*, please it's my first film, I beg you! Don't do this to me; wear the black suit. It will look very nice, I promise.

Salman Khan wanted to wear a white t-shirt and torn jeans but he had to give up after he saw a grown-up Karan Johar cry like a child in front of him.

KJo said, "He wore it, and it was fine. I just couldn't believe that he was going to wear torn jeans and I did not know what else to do and when in doubt, you cry and I knew he was kind of soft-hearted and he wouldn't take a huge football in front of him weeping like I did and he wore it and it was fun."

Kajol: 'Shahrukh Khan Once Told Me I Must Learn How To Act, He Talks Nonsense Sometimes'Kajol: 'Shahrukh Khan Once Told Me I Must Learn How To Act, He Talks Nonsense Sometimes'

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