Karan Johar is a bit of both Rahul and Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai: growing up involves both transforming yourself sartorially and breaking down your rigid beliefs.
Do you know that Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar called Karan Johar after the release of his debut film in 1998, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? But for different reasons. Shabana scolded Karan for his anti-feminist look on Anjali’s (Kajol) track. And Javed admitted he was wrong to turn down the film because of its sexually suggestive title.
But this is what Karan Johar and his filmography represent: extreme polarization, even from two minds who think the same thing. This dichotomy comes from the heart and mind of an evolving filmmaker, who is as much a fan of traditional Hindi films as their reluctant critics. He’s as much a Dafli Wale dancer as he is a Balenciaga cheerleader. And he’s as much a closeted traditionalist as he is a woke work-in-progressman.
This is exactly why, 25 years after his first film, Karan feels compelled to validate the woke discourse surrounding him. Not only does he nod to all the regressive moves, he points them out himself and shares a hearty laugh with his opponents. He may attribute the awakening to a mid-life crisis, but he’s truly a self-aware filmmaker who knows how to take a joke.
Anjali’s transformation
The most common issue he pleads guilty to on the part of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is Shabana’s criticism of the film. Why does Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan), the cool guy from the neighborhood, feel a crush on Anjali only when she wears a saree, and not when she is a tomboy in college? But haven’t we all worked hard on ourselves in order to gain validation?
Compare Anjali to Poo (Kareena Kapoor) from Karan’s 2001 family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Pooja, a girl from Chandni Chowk humiliated and bullied by the children of rich families in her childhood, took advantage of the fuel, distance and opportunity to work hard on herself and become the object of desire in her University of London.
Of course, Anjali left college on the contrary and doesn’t even have an ambitious new country to set her sights on. But if an Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) can fuel his unrequited love in his music in Karan’s 2016 romantic musical Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, then why can’t Anjali channel it into self-care and gain perspective like Aman (Salman Khan) for marriage. ?
More than that, Anjali is an autobiographical symbol of Karan’s struggles to fit in. He himself took lessons to work on his personality, even on his baritone, so as not to appear too effeminate. For him, ensuring that Anjali finds Rahul does not amount to endorsing Rahul’s regressive outlook, but to painting a glimmer of hope through fiction.
Aman > Rahul?
The second issue, which even Kajol agreed with recently, is why wouldn’t Anjali choose Aman, who the actor described as “the coolest guy”? Well, because women don’t always want men who will make them happy, but men who know what happiness means to them.
Take a look back at the conversation between Naina (Preity Zinta) and her mother Jennifer (Jaya Bachchan) in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), a film written by Karan and directed by Nikkhil Advani. Jennifer says Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) has the strength to love a woman who loves another man, unlike her father who undermined Jennifer’s strength and ended her life because he fell in love with someone ‘another. The Lovers of the world (Shah Rukh Khan) may sacrifice their love because they are dying, but the Rohits of the world have the emotional intelligence to know when to step back, when to lend a shoulder, and when to take the plunge with their partner.
Or take Karan’s 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Maya (Rani Mukerji) dislikes her overtly romantic husband Rishi (Abhishek Bachchan), but is attracted to the acerbic and reckless other man Dev (Shah Rukh Khan). She feels almost pushed back by Rishi: why not? He doesn’t take no for an answer. Dev, for his part, will show her the mirror, but will also leave her alone.
‘Pyaar ek hi bar hota hai…’
Another argument that comes up often is how Rahul always preached “Hum ek bar jeete hain, ek bar marte hain, shadi bhi ek bar hoti hai, aur pyaar bhi ek hi bar hota hai”. Karan jokes that Rahul didn’t take the last part so seriously. But that’s the whole point: making Rahul eat his own words. He had no intention of remarrying, but he can’t help himself when Anjali re-enters his life. She is the one who turns him into a hypocrite years after he became friends with her. Let’s sing “Rahul is a cheater” in that annoying tone?
Karan is a bit of both Rahul and Anjali. For him, growing up means both changing physically and sartorially and breaking down his rigid beliefs. As for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s most glaring flaw, how did one or two-year-old Anjali read the first two of the nine letters left by her mother? Let’s move on to what Karan has been saying all along: “Tum nahi samjhoge, kuch kuch hota hai.”
