Kal Ho Naa Ho

Unhappy with the polarising response to his 2001 production, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., Karan Johar of Dharma Productions decided to make what he called "a cool film" with "a different energy" from his previous projects. He began working on the script for a film that would later be titled Kal Ho Naa Ho.[15][16] Before the filming started, it was initially entitled Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, but Johar later changed it to Kal Ho Naa Ho (naming it after the song "Aisa Milan Kal Ho Naa Ho" from the 1997 film Hameshaa).[13] He used the former title Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna for his 2006 unnamed film.[17]

Around the same time, Nikhil Advani, who had served as an assistant director for Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996),[18] Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998),[15] Mohabbatein (2000),[15] and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...,[15] had planned to direct a spy thriller set in Kashmir featuring Shah Rukh Khan.[19] Advani sent an initial draft to Johar and his father, Yash Johar. They felt it was controversial and did not want Advani to choose such a risky subject for his debut film. Johar described Kal Ho Naa Ho's script to Advani who agreed to direct the film if he could make it his way.[19] Johar agreed since he preferred not to direct the film to avoid repeating previous mistakes.[20][21] He later regretted the decision and thought about taking over from Advani but refrained from doing so out of courtesy.[22] Advani said that Johar "underestimated himself" thinking he could not "do justice to it."[23] In an interview with Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com, Advani described Kal Ho Naa Ho as "the story of a family which is bogged down with a lot of problems"; one man enters their lives "and solves all their problems and makes them realise how their problems are not as big as they are perceived to be."[19]

Clockwise from upper left: Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan played Jennifer, Aman, Naina and Rohit, respectively.

Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan (no relation) and Preity Zinta were cast in the lead roles in December 2002.[24][25] The first name of Shah Rukh Khan's character, Aman, was a departure from his previous collaborations with Johar where his first name in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... was Rahul.[26][27] Salman Khan, who is not related to Shah Rukh or Saif, and Kareena Kapoor were initially offered the roles of Rohit and Naina. Salman Khan declined the offer because he did not wish to "play second fiddle",[28] and Kapoor refused the role because of a salary dispute with Johar.[29] Saif Ali Khan and Zinta subsequently agreed to be part of the project.[19]

Neetu Singh was approached for the role of Naina's mother, Jennifer, but she turned it down. It was then offered to Bachchan, who was initially reluctant to take on the role.[30] After Advani told her he would make the film in the style of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Gulzar, both of whom were Bachchan's favourite directors, she changed her mind immediately and accepted the part.[25] Kajol and Rani Mukerji made special appearances in the song "Maahi Ve".[31] Vogue India fashion director Anaita Shroff Adajania made a cameo appearance as Geeta Parekh, Naina and Rohit's fellow MBA candidate.[14][17]

Kal Ho Naa Ho was the last film produced by Yash Johar before his death on 26 June 2004.[32][6] While Karan wrote the story and screenplay, the dialogue was written by Niranjan Iyengar. Anil Mehta and Sanjay Sankla were signed as cinematographer and editor, respectively;[6] Mehta also appeared briefly as Naina's father (Jennifer's husband) at the beginning of the film.[14] Sharmishta Roy was the film's production designer. Farah Khan choreographed the song scenes and appeared as a customer in Jennifer's café.[6][14] Actor Arjun Kapoor was an assistant director of the film.[33]

The film's costumes were designed by Manish Malhotra.[34] Zinta said in an interview with Subhash K. Jha that she preferred "a very 'preppy' look", similar to Ali MacGraw's in Love Story (1970), and wore glasses to indicate Naina's initially serious nature.[35][36] Johar wanted Bachchan to wear jeans, believing that "it would be nice" for the audience "to see her in something unusual" and "break new ground" giving her a "fresh" look. Bachchan accepted without hesitation telling Johar, "If you are making it, I'll do it".[37] Zinta designed and sewed the clothes for Gia's dolls in the film.[17]

Johar and Advani were fascinated with New York City and wanted to set Kal Ho Naa Ho there.[19][38] Johar went to New York City while he worked on the film's script and stayed at least one-and-a-half months[lower-alpha 1] studying the people, their culture, how they commute and the lifestyle of Americans and the non-resident Indians (NRI) there.[37][38] He "sat in Central Park, stared at people, wrote the film, came back to Mumbai, narrated it to everybody, selected the cast."[38]

The city appealed to Advani, since he believed it mirrored Naina's personality. He summarised the similarity between the two: "You can be surrounded by millions of people right in the middle of Grand Central Station. And you can be extremely lonely." He had never been to New York City before, and used the films of Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron to learn about life there.[19] Like Johar, Advani analysed everything about the city:

When I went to scout for locations, I lived there for a month. I tried to imbibe everything there was in NY. I would just go and stand on the streets for an hour, observe people talking, make mental notes about how they walk, talk, how they don't look people in the eye. They are constantly on the move. I find that incredible.[19]

Kal Ho Naa Ho was made on a budget of ₹220 million (about US$4,818,211 in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] or ₹300 million (about US$6,570,302 in 2003).[2][3][lower-alpha 2] Principal photography began on 20 January 2003 in Mumbai.[19][23] Shah Rukh Khan became ill after four days of shooting and told Johar he would be unable to continue with the project, but Advani asked Johar to wait until the actor recovered.[23] Khan's illness lasted for six months.[23][39] Scenes with Saif Ali Khan and Zinta, including the song, "Kuch To Hua Hai", were shot in Toronto over an eight-day period in March–April 2003.[14][39][40] Johar said in an interview with Subhash K. Jha that he tried to complete the film in Toronto thinking it would be a good substitute for New York City and avoid budget problems. He came to believe the idea was unoriginal and would not work out.[15]

The 80-person production unit then moved to New York City for additional filming in July 2003, when Shah Rukh Khan joined them.[23][41] Advani and Mehta wanted to capture the city's change of seasons from winter to summer to highlight the transformation of Naina's personality,[19][21] but were unable to do so due to Shah Rukh Khan's illness. As a result, they filmed the sequences set in New York City during the summer.[21][39]

Shooting in New York City began on 15 July,[40] covering areas in and around the five boroughs and on Long Island. The street where Aman and Naina live was filmed in Brooklyn, where the unit camped for two weeks in local houses.[19] A body double was used for Zinta's jogging scene during the film's opening credits, since she had injured herself while shooting it.[14] The Northeast blackout of 2003 forced the unit to cancel some filming.[13][19][37] The shooting schedule in New York City lasted for fifty-two days.[37] The final scenes, which included some songs, were filmed at the Filmistan Studios in Mumbai over about fifty days beginning in August 2003.[37][42][43] Shooting ended in October 2003, "Maahi Ve" being the last scene filmed.[43] According to Shah Rukh Khan, Kal Ho Naa Ho was made in sync sound as there were many indoor sequences in the film. He noted that sync sound "improved" his performance "considerably" describing it as "one of the biggest blessings for an actor."[44]

Johar had planned the film's climax differently, but Yash Johar persuaded him Aman should die. Given Shah Rukh Khan's screen persona, he believed Aman's death would have a bigger impact on the audience.[45] In September 2015, Shah Rukh Khan revealed that Johar "made a special edit" of the film for his children as a favour to him; in this version, the film ends before his character dies.[46]

The film received positive reviews from critics, with the direction, story, screenplay, music, cinematography and performances gaining the most attention.[81] Film critic and author Anupama Chopra praised Advani's direction, noting in her India Today review that he "emerges as a distinctive voice". Although she appreciated its technical aspects, she criticised the film's first half and its sub-plots.[82] Mayank Shekhar called Kal Ho Naa Ho "a carefully constructed compendium of moments" which helped the audience "to feel lighter and to lighten up", concluding that "it works and is worth your entertainment bucks."[52] Komal Nahta praised the film's direction, screenplay and lead performances—particularly Shah Rukh Khan, calling his character Aman "one of the best roles of his career."[55] Ram Kamal Mukherjee described Zinta's performance as "astounding", saying that she "skillfully handled the hues of the complex character" and "walked through the character with elan." Mukherjee called Advani's and Johar's treatment of the story "unique", admiring the film's technical aspects and its treatment of homosexuality "with a dash of [humour], and thankfully by not degrading its social connection."[56]

Jitesh Pillai described Johar's screenplay as "endearing", writing that it "pinwheels with abandon from the bachelor with a heart of gold to the obdurate female lead." Pillai also praised the performances of Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, particularly their on-screen relationship and comic timing. He called Shah Rukh Khan "wonderful", describing him as "the soul" of the film and writing that Ali Khan's "joie de vivre makes it one of the most delectable performances seen in recent times."[57] Rama Sharma of The Tribune thought that Shah Rukh Khan "infuses enough spark and affection", but was "overcharged" at times. He praised Mehta's cinematography for capturing nuances and "heightening the emotion."[53]

In The Hindu, Paresh C. Palicha praised Iyengar's "witty and crispy" dialogue but criticised the characters' Indian accents.[58] Another Hindu critic, Ziya Us Salam, agreed with Nahta that the film belonged to Shah Rukh Khan. Although Shah Rukh Khan "does the same thing over and over again", he performs his role "with such panache that all you can do is sit back and wait for that master artiste to unfold his magic again."[83] A third review in The Hindu by Chitra Mahesh called Kal Ho Naa Ho "a smartly-made film" and praised Saif Ali Khan's performance, saying that "he has proved yet again what a wonderfully natural actor he is." However, she wrote that Shah Rukh Khan "tries too hard to impress".[84]

Rohini Iyer of Rediff.com praised Kal Ho Naa Ho's "fresh" storytelling and "spicy humour", saying that Zinta "captures the spirit" of her character. She concluded her review by saying that the film "will carry you with its exuberance."[54] According to Archana Vohra of NDTV, Advani "seems to have come up with an innovative way to present a done-to-death plot" and added: "Irrespective of the frills, fancy clothes and well-dressed stars, the film does strike a chord". Vohra, finding Bachchan "extremely well cast" as Jennifer and Saif Ali Khan's screen presence "electrifying", criticised Shah Rukh Khan for "playing the same kind of roles" as he did in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., but he "isn't too bad. Just needs to go easy on the histrionics."[85]

Kal Ho Naa Ho received a rating of 70 percent on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on ten reviews, with an average rating of 7.25 out of 10.[86] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, has given the film a score of 54 based on four reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[87]

In a positive review, Dave Kehr of The New York Times described Kal Ho Naa Ho as "a vigorous Bollywood blend of romantic comedy and family melodrama" and "a rich meal that may best be reserved for stomachs accustomed to such bountiful fare."[88] Writing for Variety, Derek Elley called the film a "slam-dunk" effort from Johar, with "a lightness of touch that sets it apart from the previous hits." Elley praised Saif Ali Khan and Zinta, noting that they "more than hold" their own "against a huge cast".[89] Manish Gajjar of the BBC found the script "fresh and appealing", and that Advani proves "he has the natural ability to handle both the lighter and serious moments in the film." Gajjar termed Kal Ho Naa Ho a "well-crafted product".[90]

David Parkinson of Radio Times wrote that the film "retains a distinctive Bollywood flavour", despite being inspired by "Hollywood romantic comedies". Parkinson criticised its length. He noted: "The pace slackens as plot demands take precedence over set pieces".[91] Jami Bernard of the New York Daily News wrote, "Bollywood musicals, those big, loud, colorful extravaganzas from India, are an acquired taste and much of Kal Ho Naa Ho doesn't translate easily"; despite this mixed review, Bernard noted that the lead cast's characters "grow on you."[92]

The film was successful at the box office,[93] particularly overseas due to its New York City setting.[94][95] Kal Ho Naa Ho was released on 400 screens across India and grossed ₹21.7 million (US$475,000 in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] on its opening day, the year's fourth-highest first-day earnings.[96][97] It earned ₹67.1 million (US$1,47 million in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] by the end of its opening weekend, breaking Koi... Mil Gaya's record for the year's best opening weekend for Hindi films in India.[98] At the end of its first week, the film collected ₹124.5 million (US$2.7 million in 2003).[99][lower-alpha 2] Kal Ho Naa Ho earned ₹581.8 million (US$12.7 million in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] in India and became the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2003, behind Koi... Mil Gaya.[101]

Abroad, Kal Ho Naa Ho was released in 37 theatres in the United Kingdom.[102] The film debuted in sixth place and grossed ₹29.41 million (about US$644,000 in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] over its first weekend, exceeded only by Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham....[102] In the United States, where it premiered on 52 screens,[102] it earned ₹34.62 million (US$758,000 in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] by the end of its four-day first weekend.[103] By the end of its first week, the film had grossed ₹84.64 million ($1.8 million in 2003),[lower-alpha 2] the year's highest overseas first-week gross for an Indian film.[104] In the first month after its release, Kal Ho Naa Ho collected about ₹180 million (US$3.9 million in 2003) in the UK and US,[94] grossing in the UK top ten.[105] It earned ₹279.1 million (US$6.1 million in 2003)[lower-alpha 2] overseas, becoming the year's highest-grossing Indian film.[106][lower-alpha 2] Box Office India estimated the film's total collections to be ₹860.9 million (US$18.8 million in 2003), making it 2003's most profitable Indian film.[4][lower-alpha 2]