Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan’s Kal Ho Na Ho is one of the most loved and talked about films of their careers. The film showcases a love triangle among three friends, built on sacrifice and respect for each other’s feelings. As the film clocks 20 years, we take a look back at when director Nikkhil Advani revealed some unknown insights about the film.
Nikkhil, who made his directorial debut with the film, was criticised by some people for how he depicted Shah Rukh Khan’s death scene in the film. He had mentioned earlier that even Shah Rukh wasn’t convinced about the scene. Komal Nahata, a known film critic, called the filmmaker then and asked, “How can you show death with such irreverence?” The director replied, “I show everything with irreverence… We wanted to show that Aman is still alive. So, in the final scene, after years later, Naina is shown talking to Jia, about Aman.”
Nikkhil was quoted by the Hindustan Times as saying, “It wasn’t a film about Aman and Naina (Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta respectively) or Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) and Naina. It was about the friendship that Aman and Rohit shared. It was about a guy, suffering from a terminal disease, who couldn’t confess his feelings to his beloved but knows that his friend loves the same woman and will be able to take care of her. It’s how he tries to get them together. None had attempted to make a film on those lines, and that’s why it was so successful.”
The filmmaker had earlier revealed that SRK nearly quit the film after shooting for three days due to an injury. “Shah Rukh fell ill with his back after four days of shooting, and he said, ‘Take me out of the film’. We said no and we decided to delay it. We delayed the film by six months,” the filmmaker recently spoke to Rajshri Unplugged and said.
