Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna: Karan Johar recalls polarising backlash
A man named Karan Johar makes movies in Bollywood.
Twenty years ago, he made a film called Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna about two married people who fall in love with each other.
Many people were very upset about that story.
The night before the movie opened, he secretly went to watch it with the audience.
A couple sitting in front of him got so angry during a big scene that they left the cinema.
After the show, a lady told him he should be ashamed of making the movie because her daughter had just gotten a divorce.
Some people said he was brave, while others said the movie went against traditional family values.
Later, a woman told him she loved the movie but lied to her husband about it.
Karan says the movie was never meant to say it is okay to cheat, only that it can hurt families.
Today, he says more people understand the movie than they did twenty years ago.
Karan Johar shared an Instagram note as Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna completed 20 years, recalling the film's polarising reception.
At a paid preview he secretly attended, a traditionally dressed couple angrily left the cinema after Dev and Maya's hotel elevator scene proved not to be a dream sequence.
A woman whose daughter had just got divorced confronted Johar after the screening with 'Shame on you'; he feared she might hit him.
The film drew hugely polarising feedback, from being called 'brave' and his best work to anti-'sanskaari' values and immense hate.
Johar said the film never endorsed infidelity but showed that seeking love or desire outside marriage can destroy a family, and many audiences understand it better today.
- Who
- Filmmaker Karan Johar, director of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, with a cast led by Shah Rukh Khan (Dev) and Rani Mukerji (Maya).
- What
- Karan Johar recalled angry audience encounters and the sharply polarising reception to his 2006 film about marital infidelity as it marked 20 years.
- When
- On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the film's August 11, 2006 release.
- Where
- At a cinema during a paid preview and later at an airport lounge; the film itself is set primarily in New York.
- Why
- Because the film's portrayal of infidelity touched a raw nerve that society often avoids confronting, drawing both praise and criticism.
Admirers of the film
Critics of the film
Portrayal of infidelity
Admirers of the film
The film was brave and honest; it never endorsed infidelity but showed that seeking love or desire outside marriage can destroy your very foundation and family.
Critics of the film
The film went against traditional 'sanskaari' values by depicting an extramarital affair, drawing immense hate and anger from audiences.
Film's legacy
Admirers of the film
The film has come to be regarded as a cult classic and is revisited differently; people who could not relate to it at release say they understand it better today because it made audiences think.
Critics of the film
At release it received hugely polarising reviews and audience feedback, with some calling it anti-'sanskaari' and hateful.
- Film
- Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (KANK)
- Director
- Karan Johar
- Release year
- 2006
- Producer
- Hiroo Yash Johar under Dharma Productions
- Setting
- New York
- Lead actors
- Shah Rukh Khan (Dev) and Rani Mukerji (Maya)
- Full cast
- Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Kirron Kher
- Music
- Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; lyrics by Javed Akhtar
Sources
Karan Johar feared a wiewer would hit him after a KANK screening: ‘Shame on you’
'Being Called Anti-Sanskaari...': Karan Johar Recalls Backlash To Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna After 20 Years, Says Film Didn't Endorse Infidelity
‘Shame on you’: Karan Johar recalls woman confronting him after taking daughter to Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
