Mumbai, Aug 10 (IANS) Bollywood multi-hyphenate Karan Johar, who is celebrating 20th anniversary of his directorial ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’, has shared anecdotes about his first-hand audience reviews that were “polarising” in nature.
On Monday, KJo took to his Instagram, and penned a long note, and shared how he experienced a gamut of emotions in the audience and their reviews for the film, which was largely discarded during the time of its release.
He wrote, “A night before Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna released, there was a paid preview in a cinema nearby. I went quietly to watch the film with an audience and I was sitting behind a very traditionally dressed middle aged couple (and for some reason they seemed angry and the anger was taken out on the poor popcorn they were chomping on!) At one point in the film, Dev and Maya enter the elevator of a hotel and what proceeds is the two characters succumbing to their love and desire. At that point Lady Saree looked at Sir Kurta in shock and dropped her popcorn. He turned back and said (in Gujarati), ‘Dream sequence che’. When Sir Kurta realised it wasn’t a dream sequence he looked at his wife angrily (who was now relishing her popcorn much more) and insinuated an immediate exit. They left the cinema and my heart sank”.
He further mentioned, “I stepped out with mixed feelings, and a lady & her crying daughter came upto me (I honestly thought she was moved by the movie). She asked, ‘Are you Karan Johar!!??’. I said yes, with fearful pride. She said, ‘I took my daughter to see a happy film with songs and dances and family values because it’s YOUR film. The DAY she got her DIVORCE and this is what I saw!! Shame on you’. I was worried she may hit me so I scurried away from her and encountered some more angry faces. The film released to hugely polarising reviews and audience feedback. From being called brave, my best work to anti ‘sanskaari’ values and immense hate, I heard it all. I met a woman at an airport lounge a few weeks later (at this point I was ready to be assaulted at any given point of time), she said, ‘I loved your film but I lied to my husband and told him I hated it’. I was semi relieved and 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’”.
The filmmaker agreed that the film had its flaws but also made a bold statement saying that some songs in the film were absolutely unnecessary, something that would leave the music lovers polarised.
He went on, “I don’t deny the flaws of the film… It was over bloated in scale and had opulent (and some unnecessary) songs to pander to my understanding of the mainstream, but I always felt it had its heart in the right place. I knew it was touching a raw nerve, a fact of life we as a society like to brush under our value based carpets… a reality we don’t want thrown at us by our beloved movie stars and icons. The film did not endorse infidelity (that was never ever my intention) but it did show that stepping out of the boundary of marriage to seek love or desire can destroy your very foundation and family”.
“A choice (with no judgement) only we need to make. Yes, .each story is different, each circumstance is unique, every individual has their own reasons…but stories and movies are meant to make you think…or relate. KANK perhaps did that and you can hate it or love it. It certainly didn’t make you feel indifferent to it. 20 years later, I meet many people who tell me they couldn’t relate to it then but understand it better today… Perhaps life itself gives us answers we never ever wanted to question. We want life to give us black and white solutions to all our relationship traumas…BUT, can we look at it with a grey lens? Maybe then we will understand ourselves better…just maybe… I am ever so grateful to the incredible cast and crew family of our film… I’ll will always be indebted to them for their passion and compassion #20YearsOfKANK”, he added.
–IANS
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