Juhi Chawla reveals Shah Rukh Khan picked up ‘K-K-K-Kiran’ dialogue from Yash Chopra’s stammering

Directed by the legendary Yash Chopra and produced under his Yash Raj Films banner, Darr features Shah Rukh as a persistent stalker with a dangerous obsession for Kiran, played by Juhi.

Juhi Chawla, having shared the screen with Shah Rukh Khan in over a dozen films, has a unique insight into his acting prowess. During an event at the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry, she revealed the backstory of the famous line ‘I love you K-K-K-Kiran’ from their 1991 hit romantic thriller, Darr.

“Maine yeh notice nahin kiya tha (I hadn't noticed it), but Shah Rukh was observant. Yash ji thoda haklate the aur Shah Rukh ne bataya ki unhone woh wahan se pick kiya tha (Shah Rukh once revealed that he picked up K-K-K-Kiran from director Yash Chopra, who used to stammer a little). He said, ‘I am going to use it in the film’ and wahan se unhone woh shuru kiya (he started it from there), and thank God for that,” Juhi revealed.

Directed by the legendary Yash Chopra and produced under his Yash Raj Films banner, Darr features Shah Rukh as a persistent stalker with a dangerous obsession for Kiran, played by Juhi. Kiran is married to Sunny Deol's character, making Shah Rukh’s role as the anti-hero both compelling and terrifying. This film significantly bolstered Shah Rukh’s reputation as an actor who could successfully portray complex and darker characters.

In the Netflix India docuseries, The Romantics, released last year, Shah Rukh Khan reminisced about the development of his character in Darr. He explained that the idea of his character’s stammering, which became iconic, emerged from in-depth discussions with Aditya Chopra, Yash Chopra's son, who served as an Assistant Director on the film.

He said, “I had a classmate who had a stammer. And then we did some little study, some BBC documentary or something where they talked about that people’s minds become aware to one sound, and it’s like a sharp current.”

“So, you can’t say the word. I told Yashji that I would like to use this aspect with the character. And then Adi (Aditya Chopra) suggested that because you become aware of a sound, let’s make him aware of the woman he loves the most, her name. So, I only stammer on the word Kiran. It was just for that one word because he’s so aware of her,” SRK added.