The iconic film, 'Kal Ho Naa' Ho completed 21 years and was rejected by some A-listed celebrities, one of whom was Neetu Kapoor.
One of the cult films, Kal Ho Naa Ho, was the highest grosser of the year 2003, and everything about the film became an emotion to the audience. The romantic comedy film, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, was Nikhil Advani’s directorial debut. The film was originally titled Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, but Karan later changed it to Kal Ho Naa Ho.
Everything about the film was perfect, from the casting to the songs, which later became an anthem worldwide. But do you know, the film, which lingered in Karan Johar’s head for a long time, had many highs and lows throughout the shooting. The casting also saw many changes, like Preity not being the first choice to play the role of 'Naina'; it was Kareena Kapoor.
Similarly, the role of Naina’s mother, ‘Jennifer’, was first offered to Neetu Kapoor, but she had to reject the role because of Rishi Kapoor. Yes, Neetu was keen to play the role of 'Jenny' in Kal Ho Naa Ho. However, because of Rishi Kapoor, Neetu declined the offer, and Jaya Bachchan later played the role. During the promotion of her film, Jug Jugg Jeeyo, Neetu revealed the same and said:
“It's not that I didn't want to act, it was also that I wasn't into that frame of mind. My husband never asked me not to work, but he was a very possessive man. He wanted me to be home and main baahar bhi jati thi na, he would go crazy ke kahaan ja rahe ho, when will you come. He used to get very insecure. So, for me to leave my husband and go for shoot, I could not imagine. So, I would always put it down ki nahi karna, bechara pareshan ho jayega. That's why I never worked.”
Coming back to Kareena rejecting Kal Ho Naa Ho, as per multiple reports, Karan Johar wanted to cast Kareena Kapoor as the lead actress in Kal Ho Naa Ho. But after her tremendous popularity as ‘Poo’ in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kareena demanded a heavy remuneration. As a result, the film went to Preity, and a prolonged spat between Karan and Kareena started, which was sorted out later. Kareena, during one of her appearances in Koffee With Karan, admitted her regret of rejecting the film.
Just like Preity Zinta’s role, Saif Ali Khan’s role ‘Rohit’ was initially offered to Abhishek Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi, but it eventually landed to Saif Ali Khan. Salman Khan, too, rejected the role as he didn’t want to play a secondary character to Shah Rukh Khan. Though Kareena declined the role, actress, Rani Mukerji also reportedly got upset with Karan Johar for not offering her the role of ‘Naina’. To compensate for the same, Karan gave a special appearance to Rani in the popular song, ‘Maahi Ve’, in the film.
While we cannot imagine Kal Ho Naa Ho without Shah Rukh Khan, the actor was almost about to quit the film. Just four days after the shoot, Shah Rukh fell ill with a back injury. The actor went for a complicated surgery in Germany while the cast and crew waited for him. When Shah Rukh realized that his recovery would take time, he decided to quit the film. However, Nikhil Advani convinced Karan Johar to wait for Shah Rukh to get better.
Kal Ho Naa Ho is one of the finest films in Bollywood, with perfect dialogue delivery and comic scenes, which later became iconic. But the ending, where the hero, ‘Aman’, played by Shah Rukh Khan, dies, is very emotional for the audience. Do you know that Shah Rukh Khan’s kids never saw the actual ending of the film and not just this Karan Johar made a special edit of the film for them.
The cult film, Kal Ho Naa Ho holds a touch of nostalgia in all of us. Though all his films are special for Karan Johar, Kal Ho Naa Ho holds an emotional connection as it was the last film produced by his father, Yash Johar, who passed away soon after the release of the film.
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