When underworld forced Karan Johar to leave India before the release of his directorial debut

The threat call…

After watching ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ in a preview theatre, Karan’s father and producer Yash Johar had decided to have a premiere. As the invites were being sent, Hiroo Johar received a threat call on Monday from the underworld which claimed that Karan would be shot if the film releases on Friday. This was the first time for producer Yash Johar and his family to receive a threat. Following the advice from cops, of not fearing such threats, they decided to go ahead with the premiere that was to be held on Thursday.

Karan confined into a room

The premiere was held at the Liberty theatre where several reputed names from Bollywood were present. Due to the threat, Karan Johar was kept in a small room with police protection. As he was missing out his first film’s premiere, his mother Hiroo Johar was upset. She had spoken about Karan’s dream to actor Shah Rukh Khan; his dream was to see veteran actor Shammi Kapoor arriving in his car to attend the premiere of his film. But due to this situation he was confined to a room, which meant he would miss this cherishing moment.

Shah Rukh Khan to KJo’s rescue

When Shah Rukh Khan got to knew about Karan’s dream from Hiroo Johar, he decided to come to his rescue. He went inside the room where Karan was locked and dragged him out. Knowing about his mother’s concern, Karan tried to explain Shah Rukh to let him go back. To this SRK said, “I’m standing here in front of you. Let’s see who shoots you. I’m standing right here.” Further, Shah Rukh even told Hiroo Johar, “Nothing’s gonna happen. I’m a Pathan. Nothing can happen to me and nothing will happen to your son. He’s like my brother. Nothing’s gonna happen.” [sic] And finally, Shammi Kapoor arrived in his Mercedes car at the venue. Thus was fulfilled Karan's dream.

The Johars left India soon after the premiere

The film was loved by everyone and it received a standing ovation, but it was sad that Karan couldn’t witness it, being locked in that small room. After the show was over, Karan left India with his parents as the cops had advised that all of them will be safe abroad. They made their way to London and stayed in a rented apartment. The film released but Karan had no information about it from India. On Monday, four days after its release, Karan’s friend and filmmaker Aditya Chopra told him on a phone call that his film was a blockbuster. Listening to it, Karan barged into his parents’ room and told them about the response.

Karan Johar returned a happy man

Karan Johar’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ was declared a blockbuster and till he returned, the first four weeks of the mass response was missed by him. But over a period of time, looking at the acceptance and impact of this film, Karan felt that this was undoubtedly the most honest projection of who he was (in his earlier times).