As Kal Ho Naa Ho Completes 16 Years, We Recall 7 Moments From The Film That Made Us Ugly Cry
I am told that the kind of shows and movies we like to watch says a lot about the kind of people we are. And considering that I like to watch shows like Grey’s Anatomy and movies like Five Feet Apart or Fault In Our Stars, it’s obvious I am sucker for a sob fest where people inevitably die of a long term illness. Also, because my tears and struggle to breathe while watching such movies is pretty telling that I am fully immersed. But before I shifted to the westernized version of this genre – of the tragic romance kind -and unrequited love, the real and OG movie to introduce me to this genre was in fact Karan Johar’s Kal Ho Naa Ho.
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A movie that was equal amounts of laughter as it was uncontrollable sobbing, this was one of KJo’s masterpiece, especially with a cast like that and well, a story as funny and tragic as that of Aman, Naina and Rohit. Even though the plot wasn’t newfound, what with introducing a love with a shelf life of a terminal illness, it was the way the characters were built – it connected to us at a visceral level. It was their words and situations that stayed with us long after we walked out of the theatre looking like reindeers sniffling into a box of tissues. And that is perhaps why, today as Kal Ho Naa Ho completes 16 years, we can’t help but think back to the 7 moments in the movie that had us bawling like a baby…
Naina gets turned down by Aman
This was the part where a young, hopeful and newly in love Naina finally realises her feelings towards Aman (played by a very convincing SRK) and decks up in a beautiful red dress to confess her love to him, only to be turned down as Aman tells her how he is already married. Love that soon turns into heartbreak is probably the first moments to make us really cry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zXzgUzSkqc
Jenny confronts Naina about her feelings for Aman
When a heartbroken Naina runs off to her spot near the bridge and has an emotional confrontation with her mother Jenny who breaks down with her upon finding out how her daughter has fallen in love with a man who claims to be already married, all the while Aman is eavesdropping in on them. Only if they knew! We cried for Naina in that scene, and for Aman and for the mumma.
Aman reading out of Rohit’s diary
After having royally effed up their ‘6 din ladki in‘ plan as Naina walks in on Rohit and Aman’s ridiculous plan to woo her, Aman saves the day and Rohit and Naina’s budding relationship by pretending to read out of Rohit’s diary, where as coming from a blank page, what he’s really doing is declaring his own feelings towards Naina!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRFMjHWj-t4
Naina and Rohit find out about Aman’s Illness
The start of the climax when Naina and Rohit stumble upon the truth of Shah Rukh Khan’s illness and put two and two together all the while we are gasping for air and crying some more…that really hurt.
Aman confesses his love for Naina in front of his mother
When a reluctant Aman breaks down in front of his mother and confesses his deep and once in a lifetime kind of a love for Naina, but also realises how it can never be! Why must life be so unfair? *ugly cries*
Aman and Rohit’s intense showdown
This is when soon after Rohit and Naina find out about Aman’s illness that Aman runs for miles to reach to Rohit’s place and tells him how he wishes he could be in his place. That ‘kaash‘ in his dialogues breaks us right there into another stream of tears.
The final goodbye
At this point when we seem to be all spent and drained out of tears, that Naina and the entire cast of the movie rush to the hospital to be by Aman’s side and his parting words…we just couldn’t…we didn’t cry so much at our own heartbreak as much as we did at theirs.
