Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Shah Rukh Khan played the leads in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kajol portrayed Anjali, who shares a close friendship with Rahul, played by Shah Rukh Khan.
Karan Johar’s debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, has became a cult classic with memorable characters like Anjali (Kajol), Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan), and Tina (Rani Mukerji). In a recent Netflix Actors’ Roundtable with Rajeev Masand, Kajol shared that she had to persuade Karan to let her play Tina’s role in the movie.
Kajol said, “I fought in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I fought with Karan Johar, I wanted to play Tina’s role and he was like, ‘No. You are playing Anjali.’ I was like, ‘But I want to play Tina’s role. You don’t know what I will do with Tina.’ Karan told me to shut up. I fought with him tooth and nail for 45 minutes but he refused categorically.”
In Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kajol portrayed Anjali, who shares a close friendship with Rahul. Anjali, keeping her feelings for her best friend to herself, witnesses Rahul falling in love with Tina, a newcomer to the college, leading to their eventual marriage. Heartbroken, Anjali departs from college, only to reconnect with Rahul years later and eventually marry him after Tina’s passing.
Karan Johar revealed on an episode of Koffee With Karan Season 8 that Kajol maintained “a silent distance” from her cousin Rani Mukerji during the filming of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Karan revealed that despite being cousins, Kajol and Rani were not so close at the beginning of their film careers but things have changed now.
“At that time, you didn’t have a close friendship or a relationship at all, right? Karan asked Kajol and Rani. “Though you were family, there was no rishta (relationship). You (Kajol) had also kept a silent distance from her. I used to wonder, ‘What kind of family is this?’”
When asked how their relationship got better over the years, Rani revealed, “I think it was more after our dads passed away. It’s more from that time. I think that’s what happens to families. As a family, when you lose your loved ones… And I was very close to Kajol’s dad (Shomu Mukherjee). When you go through tough times, that’s when everybody comes closer.”
