The making of Shah Rukh Khan’s Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, which turns 30

Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment has bought the rights to Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. (Image credit: Red Chillies Entertainment)

In interviews following the release of Kundan Shah’s Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, the late director repeatedly claimed that the film almost didn’t get made. Initially titled Albela, Shah’s film was unique to say the least. It followed Sunil (Khan), a spirited but also hopeless romantic in love with Anna (Suchitra Krishnamoorthi). A far cry from the love stories of yore, the film readjusted the image of the mainstream hero, a larger-than-life trope of Indian cinema. Understandably, there were sceptics who thought it wouldn’t work.

The film, though it was almost ready in 1992, couldn’t be released until 1994, because Khan wasn’t yet recognised as a star. Once Baazigar became a hit, distributors picked up the film that flipped many conventional rules of Hindi cinematic romances. The hero lacked charisma and the confidence that we’d related to mainstream leads, and he routinely resorted to petty methods to woo the woman he loved.

Made on a negligible budget, the film almost didn’t happen because it was practically put together on the fly. Deepak Tijori’s role was first offered to Mamik Singh, Shah Rukh’s to Aamir Khan and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi’s to Juhi Chawla. It’s essentially a film made from second-choice parts that sort of became a first-rate cult classic, maybe because of the lack of baggage. Decades later, Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment bought the rights to the film and may one day produce a modern update that it deserves.