Nearly 20 years after Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna sparked fierce debate, Karan Johar has opened up about the uncertainty that hung over the film while it was being made. At the centre of that anxiety was Shah Rukh Khan, who, despite his command over the romantic hero image, was concerned about whether audiences would accept Dev, one of the most flawed characters he had ever played.
Karan Johar Recalls Shah Rukh Khan’s Doubt
Johar said that during the making of the 2006 drama, Shah Rukh came to him with a frank concern: “I don’t know how to make myself likeable.” Johar remembered replying, “You’re Shah Rukh Khan! You have everyone at hello.” He also recalled telling the actor, “‘How can you not love Shah Rukh Khan? You are love.’”
The concern was rooted in the character itself. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna asked viewers to follow a man trapped in an unhappy marriage who crosses emotional and moral lines, without ever being softened into a conventional hero. Johar called it a “complicated film to shoot” and explained, “For Shah Rukh Khan, who was the perfect lover, brother, husband, and son, to go out of the boundary of his marriage and have a love affair, we didn’t know an audience would accept that character or relationship.”
A Film That Refused To Soften Its Characters
Johar said every day on set felt like a test because neither Dev nor Maya was written to be easy to defend. “I didn’t know how to justify them. They’re both really grey, flawed characters, and remain flawed right till the end of the film. So, it was a leap we were taking,” he said. He added that there was constant chatter at the time around why he had “gone mad” and chosen to make such a story on such a scale.
That resistance did not end with the film’s release. Johar also recalled being criticised for addressing infidelity so directly, and answered that discomfort with his usual bluntness: “How can I endorse something which’s already sold out? Infidelity exists in everybody’s lives. We may brush it under the carpet, but it exists. This film doesn’t brush it under the carpet, it addresses it.”
Released on August 11, 2006, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna was directed by Karan Johar and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar under Dharma Productions. The ensemble cast featured Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Amitabh Bachchan and Kirron Kher. Built around two unhappy marriages and an extra-marital relationship, the film remains one of Johar’s most debated works because it refused to offer tidy emotional answers.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Recent And Upcoming Work
Shah Rukh Khan last appeared on the big screen in 2023 with Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki, while in 2024 he was also heard in the Hindi version of Mufasa: The Lion King. His next confirmed theatrical release is King, directed by Siddharth Anand, which releases in December 2026. In that sense, Johar’s memory of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna also doubles as a reminder of a phase when Shah Rukh chose emotional risk over comfort, a trait that still shapes the conversation around his most intriguing career turns.
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