As
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
completes
20
yea s,
Ka a
Joha
has
evisited
the
i te se
eactio s
to
the
Shah
Rukh
Kha
a d
Ra i
Muke ji-sta e .
The
filmmake
ecalled
bei g
co f o ted
by
a
a g y
woma
afte
a
p eview
sc ee i g
a d
ack owledged
the
film’s
flaws,
i cludi g
its
excessive
scale
a d
some
u ecessa y
so gs,
while
mai tai i g
that
its
emotio al
co e
was
always
si ce e.
Ka a
Joha
ecalls
the
pola isi g
espo se
to
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
eleased
i
theat es
o
August
11,
2006,
a d
immediately
became
o e
of
Ka a
Joha ’s
most
debated
films.
Sta i g
Shah
Rukh
Kha ,
Ra i
Muke ji,
Abhishek
Bachcha
a d
P eity
Zi ta,
the
oma tic
d ama
explo ed
ma ital
dissatisfactio ,
emotio al
i fidelity,
love
a d
desi e.Ahead
of
the
film’s
20th
a ive sa y,
Joha
eflected
o
the
st o g
eactio s
to
the
film
i
a
le gthy
I stag am
post.
He
ecalled
atte di g
a
paid
p eview
the
ight
befo e
its
theat ical
elease,
choosi g
to
sit
amo g
the
audie ce
without
eveali g
his
ide tity.The
filmmake
said
he
oticed
a
middle-aged
couple
eacti g
st o gly
to
a
sce e
i volvi g
Shah
Rukh
Kha ’s
Dev
a d
Ra i
Muke ji’s
Maya.
Thei
discomfo t
i te sified
du i g
the
seque ce
i
which
the
two
cha acte s
e te
a
hotel
elevato
a d
give
i
to
thei
feeli gs
fo
each
othe .
A
woma
co f o ted
Ka a
Joha
afte
the
sc ee i g
Joha
ecalled
that
o e
of
the
most
st iki g
eactio s
came
afte
the
sc ee i g,
whe
a
woma
app oached
him
with
he
c yi g
daughte .
I itially,
he
assumed
she
had
bee
emotio ally
affected
by
the
film.
I stead,
she
questio ed
him
about
its
subject
a d
blamed
him
fo
what
she
had
wit essed.As
quoted
by
Mid
Day,
Joha
ecalled,
“I
stepped
out
with
mixed
feeli gs,
a d
a
lady
a d
he
c yi g
daughte
came
up
to
me
(I
ho estly
thought
she
was
moved
by
the
movie).
She
asked,
‘A e
you
Ka a
Joha !!??’.
I
said
yes,
with
fea ful
p ide.
She
said,
‘I
took
my
daughte
to
see
a
happy
film
with
so gs
a d
da ces
a d
family
values
because
it’s
YOUR
film.
The
DAY
she
got
he
DIVORCE
a d
this
is
what
I
saw!!
Shame
o
you’.
I
was
wo ied
she
may
hit
me,
so
I
scu ied
away
f om
he
a d
e cou te ed
some
mo e
a g y
faces.”Joha
said
the
divided
espo se
co ti ued
afte
the
film’s
theat ical
elease.
While
some
viewe s
co side ed
it
a
bold
a d
emotio ally
ho est
film,
othe s
felt
that
its
t eatme t
of
ma iage
a d
i fidelity
co flicted
with
t aditio al
family
values.Joha
also
emembe ed
a
e cou te
at
a
ai po t
lou ge
seve al
weeks
afte
the
elease.
A
woma
told
him
that
she
had
actually
e joyed
Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a,
despite
havi g
told
he
husba d
that
she
disliked
it.The
filmmake
said
he
was
elieved
by
he
co fessio
a d
asked
why
she
had
hidde
he
t ue
opi io .The
woma
explai ed
that
admitti g
she
liked
the
film
could
have
led
to
u comfo table
questio s
f om
he
husba d.
Joha
ecalled
he
sayi g,
“I
loved
you
film
but
I
lied
to
my
husba d
a d
told
him
I
hated
it”.She
added,
“If
I
told
him
I
loved
it,
he
would
have
asked
me
what
I
liked
about
it,
so
it
was
safe
to
lie”.
Ka a
Joha
admits
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
was
‘ove -bloated’
Looki g
back
two
decades
late ,
Joha
has
also
ack owledged
the
film’s
sho tcomi gs.
He
admitted
that
its
p oductio
scale
was
excessive
a d
that
some
of
its
so gs
we e
u ecessa y.The
filmmake
said,
“I
do ‘t
de y
the
flaws
of
the
film…
It
was
ove -bloated
i
scale
a d
had
opule t
(a d
some
u ecessa y)
so gs
to
pa de
to
my
u de sta di g
of
the
mai st eam,
but
I
always
felt
it
had
its
hea t
i
the
ight
place.”Joha
also
cla ified
that
the
film
was
eve
i te ded
to
e do se
i fidelity.
He
said,
“The
film
did
ot
e do se
i fidelity
(that
was
eve
eve
my
i te tio ),
but
it
did
show
that
steppi g
out
of
the
bou da y
of
ma iage
to
seek
love
o
desi e
ca
dest oy
you
ve y
fou datio
a d
family.”’Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
co ti ues
to
fi d
a
diffe e t
audie ceDespite
its
pola isi g
eceptio
i
2006,
Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a
has
co ti ued
to
ge e ate
discussio
ove
the
yea s.
Its
t eatme t
of
u happy
ma iages,
emotio al
compatibility
a d
complicated
elatio ships
has
also
fou d
e ewed
eleva ce
amo g
you ge
audie ces.
The
film
b ought
togethe
Shah
Rukh
Kha
a d
Ra i
Muke ji
as
Dev
a d
Maya,
alo gside
Abhishek
Bachcha
a d
P eity
Zi ta
as
Rishi
a d
Rhea.
Its
themes,
pe fo ma ces
a d
music
have
e su ed
that
it
emai s
o e
of
Joha ’s
most
discussed
di ecto ials.
