Karan Johar talks about Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's box office success, says "I also question the gender politics, SRK’s Rahul was a hypocrite"

Karan Johar crticises his own film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Karan Johar has always been candid about his past mistakes, particularly regarding the gender politics in his iconic film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Reflecting on it now, the filmmaker admitted that he didn't fully consider the social ramifications of the film at the time of its release.

His primary focus back then was to create a hit that could revive his father Yash Johar's production house, which had been facing a series of box-office failures.

Johar acknowledged that while Kuch Kuch Hota Hai became a massive commercial success, the film's portrayal of gender roles and its portrayal of women left much to be desired. In hindsight, he admitted he would have handled these aspects more sensitively had he been more aware of their cultural impact.

While talking to famous Youtuber Lilly Singh, popularly known as superwoman on her podcast, Karan mentioned, "I just wanted to make a very big hit. I was 24 years old when I wrote Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and as a producer’s son, I grew up understanding box office business and how our country has a varied audience."

He further mentioned, "My father was a very loved man, but he was also a producer who had made a series of unsuccessful films—five back-to-back failures. I just wanted to make a big, monstrous hit for my dad.. I wasn’t thinking of contributing to society or to make a film that would make a difference, or a politically correct thing that would be impressionable. And I wanted to do this not for material reason but for prestige reason and my father to get his moral back."

Karan Johar has confessed that when he revisits Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, there are certain moments in the film that make him cringe, despite its success at the box office.

“When I look back at my first film, I’m very proud of all the love it has received, but I also question the gender politics, some of the dialogues, and the cringe moments. When I see them now, I think, ‘What was I thinking?’ I was young and new to cinema. I am allowed to make my mistakes," he said.

Looking back at the character of Rahul, played by Shah Rukh Khan, he now sees him as a ‘hypocrite.’ He admitted, “That character came from me because I was writing the dialogues. He fell for the hot girl, and then when the girl he didn’t like became hot, he fell in love with her. Was he just chasing surface-level good looks? That was all my writing. I didn’t realize at the time that I was feeding a certain school of thought. I just wanted to make a blockbuster."