Mumbai: Filmmaker Karan Johar has revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had serious doubts about taking on the lead role in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), the drama about infidelity that cast Bollywood’s biggest romantic star as a deeply flawed man.

According to Johar, Khan told him he did not know how to make himself likeable in the role. In the film, Khan played Dev Saran, a former footballer whose marriage has collapsed and who begins an extramarital relationship with a woman in a similarly unhappy marriage.

It was a sharp break from the characters that made Khan a superstar, the charming lovers of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and Kal Ho Naa Ho. Dev was bitter, selfish, and at times cruel, offering the audience none of the warmth they expected.

A risky film ahead of its time

When it released in 2006, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna divided viewers. The subject of adultery was treated far more openly than mainstream Hindi cinema had dared before, and some audiences rejected a story that refused to punish its unfaithful leads in the usual moral terms.

Over the years, however, the film has been re-evaluated. Critics and younger viewers now praise its honesty about unhappy marriages, its strong performances, and a soundtrack that became a chart-topper. It is regularly cited as one of the boldest mainstream Hindi films of its era.

Why the doubts mattered

Johar’s revelation adds a new layer to that legacy. Khan’s hesitation shows how aware he was of the risk: stepping out of the romantic-hero mould that had made him the face of Bollywood romance for over a decade.

That he went ahead anyway, and delivered one of the most talked-about performances of his career, is a reminder of why the star has endured. Two decades on, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna remains the film where Shah Rukh Khan dared to be unlikeable, and the audience eventually came around.