Archive · 20 Sep 2026
Karan Johar Revisits Shah Rukh’s Doubts About KANK
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is a Hindi film about two married people who fall in love with each other.
Shah Rukh Khan played Dev, one of the characters in the relationship.
Karan Johar said Shah Rukh worried that viewers would not like Dev because Dev was flawed.
Johar also worried that audiences might reject the story.
The filmmaker said making a movie about infidelity was a big risk at the time.
Some people criticized the film for seeming to support cheating.
Johar said the film was not hiding infidelity but showing and discussing it.
He also said his father would probably not have allowed him to make it.
Johar believes movies are valuable when they make people think and talk, even if they disagree.
Karan Johar said Shah Rukh Khan worried audiences would not like his flawed character in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.
The 2006 film portrayed an extramarital relationship between Dev and Maya, played by Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji.
Johar described the production as challenging because mainstream Hindi cinema had rarely addressed infidelity in such a major film.
Johar said his late father, Yash Johar, would likely have opposed the project because of his conservative views.
Although the film remains polarising, Johar said he is proud that it prompted conversations about relationships and morality.
- Who
- Filmmaker Karan Johar, actor Shah Rukh Khan, and the cast of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, including Rani Mukerji.
- What
- Karan Johar discussed Shah Rukh Khan’s doubts about playing a flawed character in the film and explained why he made the controversial story.
- When
- The film was released in 2006 and, according to the article, recently marked 20 years since its release.
- Where
- Johar discussed the film at the Marrakech Film Festival.
- Why
- Johar wanted to pursue his creative vision and address infidelity rather than avoid a difficult subject.
Supporters and defenders
Critics and skeptics
Depiction of infidelity
Supporters and defenders
The film addresses infidelity openly instead of pretending it does not exist, and gives audiences a difficult subject to discuss.
Critics and skeptics
Critics accused Johar of endorsing infidelity and objected to presenting an extramarital relationship in a mainstream romantic drama.
Dev’s character
Supporters and defenders
Supporters may view Dev as a deliberately flawed and complicated character rather than a conventional romantic hero.
Critics and skeptics
The character’s departure from Shah Rukh Khan’s traditionally likeable roles made some people question whether audiences would accept him.
Value of controversy
Supporters and defenders
Johar believes strong reactions show that the film affected viewers and contributed to popular-culture conversations.
Critics and skeptics
The film’s polarising subject and intimate scenes led some viewers to reject it, including a couple who reportedly left a theater after realizing a sex scene was not a dream.
- Film
- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
- Release year
- 2006
- Director
- Karan Johar
- Central relationship
- An extramarital relationship between Dev and Maya
- Lead actors mentioned
- Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji
- Production challenge
- The film dealt with infidelity in mainstream Hindi cinema
- Johar’s view
- He remains proud that the film started conversations despite its polarising reception