Filmmaker reveals SRK schooled Karan Johar on 'Kuch Kuch...' set
What's the story
Veteran filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, who directed the 2003 film Kal Ho Naa Ho and was an assistant director on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, recently shared behind-the-scenes stories from these films. He recounted how Shah Rukh Khan once reprimanded him and Karan Johar for their lack of knowledge about filmmaking equipment during the first day of shooting for KKHH.
Incident
Khan's reprimand over unnecessary equipment
Advani told Radio Nasha, "So it was the day one shoot... We had called for all the equipment, be it the dolly, the jib, and everything in between." "The scene we shot isn't in the film, but we had a tracking shot of kids crying outside a dentist's office, and then we see Shah Rukh also crying." "Young Anjali is telling him, 'Pagal ho gaye ho kya? (Have you gone mad?) Behave yourself.'" "So we were having fun."
Advice
Khan's advice to Advani and Johar
After the first day's shoot, Khan called Advani and Johar into his van. The actor told the duo, "Boss, you all don't know anything; tumhe kuch nahi aata hai (you don't know how to do anything)." "Why did you get all this equipment? It wasn't required for this shot. Figure it out!" Advani said, "I remember going to Karan and telling him, 'We should just shoot the song, and I'll learn from Farah Khan.'"
Filming techniques
Advani's approach to filming emotional scenes
Advani also spoke about his experience directing the iconic death scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho. He admitted he started crying because he didn't know how to shoot the scene. "I had to convince myself that Shah Rukh had just done Devdas." "His death scene was so iconic, with Aishwarya Rai running with the nine metre saree and screaming 'Deva...'." The director revealed, "We tried to keep that scene as simple as possible, and you never actually see Aman dying."