20 Years of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

A couple of weeks back, I bumped into a news item on a news website whose title read- "20 years of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai". In a jiffy, my mind traveled back in time- in the year 1998! At the back of my mind, it was getting difficult for me to believe that KKHH was now considered as nostalgia! For me, nostalgia was Amar Prem, Zanjeer, Sholay and the likes. No, I am not talking about getting older. It's about the time and crazy memories still stuck in my mind as the 'cool thing' of today is now a nostalgia. What changed it? Time of course! So here's a blog post dedicated to my fond memories that flashed my mind in a short span of 15 seconds after reading that news item.


Cut to 1998, it was my first year in college. A new phase was beginning and I was getting adjusted to it- no more uniforms and being in the class from 8 to 1 with a 15 min interval. And then the buzz about a movie that glorified college life with basketball games, ragging, students dancing in the corridors... and that's it! No study? Well, probably that was how it supposed to be. It was not a documentary after all. I remember a group of 20 people from our class planned to go for this movie together. I did not go- for the reasons explained later. One of the guy who came back watching the told me- "Jhakkas movie. Shahrukh rocks!"

I did not go with my college friends because I had planned to watch it with my cousin. Back then, I and my cousin Ashwini were always at the loggerheads on who was the best- Shahrukh Khan or Salman Khan. Yes! We actually spent time discussing (read arguing) this! I thought it was Salman Khan and she thought it was Shahrukh Khan. We had several tiffs and never ending debates. So when this KKHH trailers were aired- it added more fuel to the big discussion. In those days, social media was not as powerful as it is today. So, secrets were kept secrets- and Salman Khan as Aman Varma in KKHH was pretty much a surprise till the movie released.

When we finally went to watch the movie (I and Ashwini) the theater was jam packed. I have no idea how my dad managed to get the tickets (probably black tickets). But by the time we took our seats we were already 15 mins late. The first half was all about Rahul and Anjali and how they did not study in college. Excuse my sarcasm.

My most cherished memory comes post interval. It is when the handsome would-be groom for Anjali is introduced. Amidst the melodious tunes of Santoor in the background and the grand wedding sets, the groom- Aman Varma is introduced. Viola! It's Salman Khan. I could hear Ashwini's slight shrill of excitement. I was also taken aback- "How come Salman Khan accepted this half the movie?". But the consolation was- there was huge excitement in the audience with whistles and noise all over as Salman Khan's face was revealed.

Another memory with KKHH- was the craze for the music and songs. The TV channels had revealed the title song, but I and Ashwini always had curiosity of other songs. I saved some money from my pocket money and bought a music cassette of KKHH (those were the days). I still couldn't help laughing after 20 years on what I did next. I shared the "great news" with her about listening to the second song- "Koi mil gaya...". The next moment, I was playing the song on the phone. And mind you- those were the days of landline phones with huge handset with curly wires attached to the body with the number pad. No mobile phones! And yet we shared the song.

Back to 2018, I have a hearty laugh on those memories of 98 with KKHH. Now, at 37, I have loads of questions on the logic and rationality of this movie. But in those days, at 17 it was a cool thing. And not to forget the Salman- Shahrukh treat. These memories will be always cherished as one of those silly things we did when we were younger.