Decades after the release of Nikhil Advani directorial debut ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ which emerged as a blockbuster boasting an ensemble cast, captivating story, and superhit musical tracks, the director reveals what Shah Rukh Khan thought of the film. Shah Rukh Khan who played the lead role in the film alongside Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan used to rebuff the film, hailing it as “rubbish.” In a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Nikhil Advani revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had a humorous habit of comparing his films with his other projects, while shooting for the 2003 hit film, the ‘Dunki’ actor used to compare ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’ calling the latter “fantastic.”
During the interview, the ‘Batla House’ director opened up about the ‘Om Shanti Om’ actor’s habit of humorously criticising the films he was shooting for by comparing them to his other projects. Recalling the Bollywood superstar’s reaction to ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho,’ Nikhil shared, “When we were doing Mohabbatein, Shah Rukh was doing Hey Ram. Shah Rukh has a habit of coming to meetings where he says that the film he is making with you is rubbish. You should be seeing the other film. In Kal Ho Naa Ho, he said ‘Devdas’ is fantastic but ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ is rubbish. So, he has that habit.”
Nikhil Advani worked as an Assistant Director for the films ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ (2001), ‘Mohabbatein’ (2000) and ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ (1998). He made his directorial debut with ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ which was bankrolled by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Saif Ali Khan, the film also starred Jaya Bachchan and Sonali Bendre in pivotal roles.
The film racked up a whopping Rs 860 million against a budget of Rs 220-300 million and became one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. However, after the film’s release, Nikhil Advani had a public fallout with Karan Johar and had no work for three years. He left Dharma Productions and donned the director’s cap in 2007 for ‘Salaam-e-Ishq.’
The film completed 20 years of its release last year on November 28. Producer Karan Johar celebrated the milestone by penning a heartfelt note on social media. He penned, “This film has been such an emotional journey for me and perhaps for all of us if I have gathered over the many years. To bring such a stellar star cast together with a story that has a beating heart, it’s all kudos to the entire cast and team behind the camera for making Kal Ho Naa Ho still beat strong and remain in everyone’s hearts.”
Nikhil’s next theatrical release is ‘Vedaa’ starring John Abraham, Sharvari, Abhishek Banerjee, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ashish Vidyarthi and Kshitij Chauhan in key roles. The film is slated for an Independence Day release. Nikhil’s production project ‘Freedom At Midnight’ is also expected to hit theatres in 2024.
