Filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Kajol have been thick of friends for a long time. Their friendship has weathered several storms and they have spoken about them in various interviews. In an older interview, Karan had revealed the moment when they realised that they would be friends for life. The moment happened when Kajol refused to work with Mani Ratnam because she had already committed to Karan Johar for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
While speaking with Simi Garewal during her talk show Rendezvous With Simi Garewal, Karan shared that Kajol was a big Mani Ratnam fan but when he called her for a film, she was ready to let go of that opportunity. “She had told me she wished to work with him once. She just loved Mani Ratnam,” KJo shared. And when, Ratnam called Kajol to offer her a film with Shah Rukh Khan, she couldn’t believe it.
“We had discussed Mani Ratnam so much that when he actually called her, she didn’t believe it. She just said, ‘Shut up, Karan’ and disconnected the call. He called her up again and told her, ‘No, this is really Mani Ratnam,’” Karan Johar narrated. This was the time when Kajol had already signed Kuch Kuch Hota Hai with Karan and they were supposed to start the shoot soon.
Kajol further shared that Shah Rukh had to intervene and convince her that Mani Ratnam really called her. He told her, “Kajal, I swear it is Mani Ratnam. I am telling you the truth. It is really Mani Ratnam.” Then SRK called KJo to inform him that Kajol has been offered a film by Mani Ratnam opposite him but it is clashing with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
“I called Kajol and said I will let go of my dates and will start my film later, how can you not do Mani Ratnam film? But for her, it was like, ‘I don’t care who has offered me what, it’s your film and I have committed to you’. The sentiment was that. For her, it was not a big deal. But that’s what made a difference for me. I just kind of understood what kind of a person she is,” Karan added.
Kajol chose Kuch Kuch Hota Hai over a Mani Ratnam film. She never got a chance to star in his other film. She shared, “I met him after that and I told him, ‘I hope you did not take it in a wrong way but that was something that I had to do.’” Kajol added that she had full confidence that Karan Johar can make good films and never doubted his filmmaking skills.
Source : Indian express