WhenKaran Joharand his team were shootingKal Ho Naa Hoin New York and Toronto,Shah Rukh Khanhad just undergone a complicated back surgery and the thought of him dying on screendidn’tnot appeal to anyone associated with the film.

To set all doubts to rest right at the beginning,Kal Ho Naa Ho (KHNH)is most definitely inspired byHrishikesh Mukherjee‘sAnand. The weeping, wailing and the tissue-based tearjerker (which put off the detractors ofKabhiKushiKabhi Gham) are kept to a minimum. And the credit for that can safely be given to debutant director Nikkhil Advani who did a commendable job for a first timer.

That the film belongs to Advani and not Johar is clear from the fact that the film is more funny than sad. In addition, not only does Advani have his characters exactly where he wants them, he also contains their tendency to overdo it. Shah Rukh Khan, for once, probably after aYes Bossand aKabhi Haan Kabhi Naais not Shah Rukh Khan but Aman Mathur, the character he essays. For once you truly forget that SRK is here to play himself.Preity Zintaas Naina Catherine Kapur, her mother Jennifer (Jaya Bachchan) and her ‘friend’ Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) are the perfect foils for SRK’s histrionics, which don’t go overboard.

The tenor and tone of the film rest on the dialogues and screenplay, the former penned by Niranjan Iyengar and the latter by Karan Johar. Quite often reminiscent of Farhan Akhtar’sDil Chahta Hai,in terms of its candid, urbane humour,KHNH‘sfresh, cheeky attitude comes from its lead characters. Funny for most part, the film makes a transition to tragedy in the end with ease. Even better rather than find the weepy scenes funny and unbelievable, one finds oneself empathizing with the characters’ plight.

What definitely comes through is the factDil Chahta Haiset the tone for future Bollywood romances/comedies. No longer did the melodrama overshadow intelligent, believable humour and trendy wholesome truthful love relationships.

Dil Chahta Haishowed the way .KHNH took the hint. The irreverence for hallowed Hindi cinema and its protected formulae is much in evidence .So is the homophobia . The ‘Kantabehn’ jokes wherein thehousehelpsees Shah Rukh and Saif Ali Khan lying together (honestly!) in the same bed are indicative of the way Hindi cinema dealt with homosexuality.

Kareena Kapoor Khan’s best friend in the entertainment industry and her go-to person for all the gossip she wants and all the heartaches she gets, is indisputably Karan Johar. They are inseparably close. But there came a phase in their kinship when they stopped talking to each other completely. This was when Karan was planningKal Ho Naa Ho他最喜欢沙鲁克汗和second-favourite Bollywood diva Kareena (afterKajol).

Kareena shocked Karan and his fatherYash Joharby quoting a price that sent the father-son staggering out of the Kapoors’ residence. Karan gently asked his Bebo darling to reconsider the price. But shewouldn’tbudge. This, rightly, hurt Karan. He stopped all communication with Kareena. For almost a year, they looked through each other at every social gathering that they attended. And since they had plenty of common friends they kept bumping into and ignoring each other, much to the shock of mutual friends.

It was Karisma who put an end to the Kjo-Bebo cold war. She made them both sit down and open up the wound which was festering in their relationship. Karisma reminded her sister that Karan was the brother they never had, and she reminded Karan that Bebo and Lolo were the sisters he never had. That was it. In no time, Karan and Kareena were sobbing and hugging one another. Kareena went on to act in many Dharma Productions. She insisted shewon’tcharge money after what happened regardingKal Ho Naa Hao.But Karan insisted on paying her.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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