‘Shame on you’: Karan Johar recalls woman confronting him after taking daughter to Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna

Karan Johar has reflected on the sharply divided response to Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna as the 2006 film marks 20 years, recalling angry audience reactions to its portrayal of marital infidelity and explaining what he intended the controversial story to convey.

Karan Johar reflects on the Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna backlash

Johar recalled secretly attending a paid preview of the film before its release, where he witnessed an audience member's reaction to a pivotal scene involving Dev and Maya, played by Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji.

Johar started the post with, "A night before Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna released, there was a paid preview in a cinema nearby. I went quietly to watch the film with an audience and I was sitting behind a very traditionally dressed middle aged couple (and for some reason they seemed angry and the anger was taken out on the poor popcorn they were chomping on!) At one point in the film, Dev and Maya enter the elevator of a hotel and what proceeds is the two characters succumbing to their love and desire. At that point Lady Saree looked at Sir Kurta in shock and dropped her popcorn. He turned back and said (in Gujarati) - “Dream sequence che!” When Sir Kurta realised it wasn't a dream sequence he looked at his wife angrily (who was now relishing her popcorn much more) and insinuated an immediate exit! They left the cinema and my heart sank... (sic)."

The filmmaker said another encounter outside the cinema further demonstrated the strength of the reaction to the film.

He recalled, "I stepped out with mixed feelings, and a lady & her crying daughter came upto me (I honestly thought she was moved by the movie). She asked - "Are you Karan Johar!!??" I said yes, with fearful pride. She said, "I took my daughter to see a happy film with songs and dances and family values because it's YOUR film. The DAY she got her DIVORCE and this is what I saw!! Shame on you" I was worried she may hit me so I scurried away from her and encountered some more angry faces (sic)."

Released in 2006, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna represented a significant departure from Johar's earlier family-focused dramas. Set primarily in New York, the film follows Dev and Maya, two people in unhappy marriages who develop an emotional connection that eventually becomes an extramarital affair.

The film's storyline generated polarising reactions, with Johar recalling that it was praised by some as bold while others criticised it for challenging conventional ideas around marriage and family values.

"The film released to hugely polarising reviews and audience feedback... From being called brave, my best work to anti 'sanskaari' values and immense hate I heard it all... (sic)," he added.

Johar also recalled meeting a woman at an airport who admitted she had enjoyed the film but had concealed her opinion from her husband.

He wrote, "I met a woman at an airport lounge a few weeks later (at this point I was ready to be assaulted at any given point of time), she said - "I loved your film...but I lied to my husband and told him I hated it." I was semi relieved and asked why. She said "If I told him I loved it he would have asked me what I liked about it...so it was safe to lie!" (sic)."

While acknowledging shortcomings in the film's execution, Johar said he continued to believe its underlying intentions were sound.Johar said the film addressed an uncomfortable subject that society often avoids confronting.

He wrote, "I don't deny the flaws of the film... It was over bloated in scale and had opulent (and some unnecessary) songs to pander to my understanding of the mainstream... but I always felt it had its heart in the right place. I knew it was touching a raw nerve, a fact of life we as a society like to brush under our value based carpets...(sic)."

He subsequently clarified that the film was not intended to present infidelity as something to celebrate. Johar said the film's purpose was also to encourage audiences to consider the complexities of relationships rather than seek straightforward answers.

"A reality we don't want thrown at us by our beloved movie stars and icons. The film did not endorse infidelity (that was never ever my intention) but it did show that stepping out of the boundary of marriage to seek love or desire can destroy your very foundation and family. A choice (with no judgement) only we need to make. Yes...each story is different, each circumstance is unique, every individual has their own reasons...but stories and movies are meant to make you think...or relate. KANK perhaps did that and you can hate it or love it... it certainly didn't make you feel indifferent to it (sic)," he wrote.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, produced by Hiroo Yash Johar under Dharma Productions, featured Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher. Its soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, with lyrics by Javed Akhtar.

Looking back two decades later, Johar said audiences' interpretations of the film have changed with time.

"20 years later, I meet many people who tell me they couldn't relate to it then but understand it better today... Perhaps life itself gives us answers we never ever wanted to question," he wrote, as he concluded the post.

He concluded by expressing gratitude to the cast and crew, while suggesting that the film's continued ability to provoke debate remains part of its legacy.