Back
i
2006,
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
ope ed
to
a
mixed
eceptio ,
with
much
of
the
co ve satio
a d
c iticism
ce t i g
o
how
the
film
ha dled
the
theme
of
i fidelity.
Two
decades
o ,
though,
Ka a
Joha ‘s
di ecto ial
has
ea ed
cult
status.
As
the
film
ma ks
20
yea s
si ce
its
elease,
Ka a
looked
back
at
the
divided
eactio s
it
faced
a d
sha ed
that
the e
was
a
poi t
whe
he
ge ui ely
fea ed
a g y
audie ces
might
co f o t
him
physically.
Ka a
ecalls
atte di g
a
paid
p eview
of
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
I
a
emotio al
ote
sha ed
o
I stag am,
the
filmmake
looked
back
o
a
paid
p eview
sc ee i g
he
atte ded
the
ight
befo e
the
film’s
elease.
He
w ote,
“A
ight
befo e
Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a
eleased,
the e
was
a
paid
p eview
i
a
ci ema
ea by.
I
we t
quietly
to
watch
the
film
with
a
audie ce,
a d
I
was
sitti g
behi d
a
ve y
t aditio ally
d essed
middle-aged
couple
(a d
fo
some
easo
they
seemed
a g y
a d
the
a ge
was
take
out
o
the
poo
popco
they
we e
chompi g
o !).”Ka a
we t
o
to
desc ibe
the
sce e
whe e
Dev
(Shah
Rukh
Kha )
a d
Maya
(Ra i
Muke ji)
fi ally
act
o
thei
feeli gs
fo
o e
a othe .
“At
o e
poi t
i
the
film,
Dev
a d
Maya
e te
the
elevato
of
a
hotel
a d
what
p oceeds
is
the
two
cha acte s
succumbi g
to
thei
love
a d
desi e.
At
that
poi t,
Lady
Sa ee
looked
at
Si
Ku ta
i
shock
a d
d opped
he
popco .
He
tu ed
back
a d
said
(i
Guja ati),
‘D eam
seque ce
che!’
Whe
Si
Ku ta
ealised
it
was ‘t
a
d eam
seque ce,
he
looked
at
his
wife
a g ily
(who
was
ow
elishi g
he
popco
much
mo e)
a d
i si uated
a
immediate
exit!
They
left
the
ci ema
a d
my
hea t
sa k,”
he
w ote.
A
emotio al
e cou te
afte
Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’s
elease
A othe
e cou te
left
Ka a
Joha
eve
mo e
attled,
as
he
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,”
he
w ote.The
film
we t
o
to
divide
both
audie ces
a d
c itics
sha ply.
Ka a
ecalled
bei g
p aised
as
bold
o
o e
ha d
a d
slammed
fo
st ayi g
f om
“sa skaa i”
ideals
o
the
othe .
“The
film
eleased
to
hugely
pola isi g
eviews
a d
audie ce
feedback…
F om
bei g
called
b ave,
my
best
wo k
to
a ti
‘sa skaa i’
values
a d
imme se
hate—I
hea d
it
all,”
he
w ote.
A
few
weeks
late ,
though,
a
cha ce
meeti g
at
a
ai po t
lou ge
cha ged
his
outlook.
“I
met
a
woma
at
a
ai po t
lou ge
a
few
weeks
late
(at
this
poi t
I
was
eady
to
be
assaulted
at
a y
give
poi t
of
time).
She
said,
‘I
loved
you
film…
but
I
lied
to
my
husba d
a d
told
him
I
hated
it.’
I
was
semi- elieved
a d
asked
why.
She
said,
‘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
eflects
o
Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’s
legacy
Looki g
back
at
‘Kabhi
Alvida
Naa
Keh a’
afte
twe ty
yea s,
Ka a
admitted
the
film
was ‘t
without
its
sho tcomi gs
but
i sisted
its
t ue
i te t
was
eve
eally
g asped
by
eve yo e.
“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.
I
k ew
it
was
touchi g
a
aw
e ve,
a
fact
of
life
we
as
a
society
like
to
b ush
u de
ou
value-based
ca pets…
a
eality
we
do ’t
wa t
th ow
at
us
by
ou
beloved
movie
sta s
a d
ico s.
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.
A
choice
(with
o
judgeme t)
o ly
we
eed
to
make,”
he
w ote.W appi g
up
his
ote,
the
filmmake
touched
o
how
the
film’s
eleva ce
has
shifted
ove
time,
alo g
with
the
audie ces
watchi g
it.
“Yes…
each
sto y
is
diffe e t,
each
ci cumsta ce
is
u ique,
eve y
i dividual
has
thei
ow
easo s…
but
sto ies
a d
movies
a e
mea t
to
make
you
thi k…
o
elate.
KANK
pe haps
did
that,
a d
you
ca
hate
it
o
love
it…
it
ce tai ly
did ‘t
make
you
feel
i diffe e t
to
it,”
he
w ote.
He
me tio ed
that
eve
ow,
two
decades
late ,
he
f eque tly
comes
ac oss
people
who
say
the
film
did ‘t
eso ate
with
them
back
the
but
makes
mo e
se se
to
them
today.
Ka a
Joha
closed
the
ote
by
tha ki g
the
film’s
cast
a d
c ew,
sayi g
he
would
“always
be
i debted
to
them
fo
thei
passio
a d
compassio .”
Ka a
Joha ‘s
ece t
wo k
Mea while,
Ka a ‘s
most
ece t
di ecto ial
ve tu e
was
‘Rocky
Au
Ra i
Kii
P em
Kahaa i’,
which
featu ed
Ra vee
Si gh
a d
Alia
Bhatt
i
the
lead
oles,
a d
he
co ti ues
to
p oduce
a
umbe
of
films
th ough
his
ba e ,
Dha ma
P oductio s.
