'Don't Want Shah Rukh To Say No To Me'

'Today, Shah Rukh is sitting so high up that it will have to be something really spectacular for him to jump up and say, "Hey, yes, let's make this film!".'

Nikkhil Advani assisted Karan Johar on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham before directing Shah Rukh Khan in Kal Ho Naa Ho.

"He sent me a handwritten note, which I have framed on my office wall, urging me to make his exit in Kal Ho Naa Ho as good as the entry scene in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham," Nikkhil tells Rediff Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya.

'I was really impressed with Shah Rukh's big, red Pajero'

I saw Shah Rukh for the first time at Mumbai's Natraj Studio; he drove up in a big, red Pajero.

Everyone was talking about this new boy who had signed a big film with Yash Raj (Films).

Aziz Mirza, who had directed him in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. was really proud of him.

I was Kundan Shah's AD (Assistant Director) at the time and didn't have the guts to go up and speak to him.

I watched from afar as he sat under a tree near the studio canteen and chatted with Kundan and Aziz.

I was really impressed with his Pajero and years later, my production house bought the car or one similar to it.

'He has a way of drawing you into his embrace'

I met Shah Rukh for the first time when I accompanied Karan Johar, who I was then assisting, to his apartment in Bandra's Amrit building (in northwest Mumbai).

He was extremely warm and has a way of drawing you into his embrace in a way that makes you feel instantly comfortable, irrespective of whether he is meeting you for the first time or the hundredth.

Kajol was there too and Karan, who had worked with them earlier in Adi's (Aditya Chopra) Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, narrated the story of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, his directorial debut, to them.

Shah Rukh has always been close to Adi and Karan.

While assisting Sudhir Mishra and Kundan, Dilip Dhawan was the biggest star I had met, so understandably, I was tongue-tied in his presence.

'The first scene of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai never made it to the film'

Shah Rukh has always been a fan of action and visual effects, the kind of tentpole films he is making now, and had very few things to say.

When it came to love stories and family dramas, he admitted Karan and Adi, along with their dads, Yash Johar and Yash Chopra, understood the genre far better than him.

Putting his trust in Karan's vision, he agreed to play Rahul.

We had planned the first scene with baby Anjali and Rahul.

It was shot, but never made it to the film.

It is there in the DVD though, along with the other deleted scenes.

After it was canned, Shah Rukh called Karan and me to his room and told us, 'You guys have a great script and all the right equipment, but you have no idea what you are doing, you need to get your act together.'

He suggested we start with a song; we literally learnt filmmaking while on the job.

'His introduction scene in K3G remains unforgettable'

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, a Diwali release, was a blockbuster.

After that, I assisted Karan on another lavishly-mounted film, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

Shah Rukh was really excited about his introduction scene; he flies in on a helicopter while Jaya Bachchan is doing the aarti, confident her son will join the rest of the family in time.

We spent a lot of time together working out the technical details.

Earlier, he had choreographed the basketball sequence in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

After it was shot, all the other ADs on the set would tell Shah Rukh how well his entry scene had shaped up, it remains unforgettable to this day.

I learnt later that during the making of K3G itself, Shah Rukh had told Yash Johar that I was ready to branch out on my own and should direct Dharma Productions' next film.

Karan, who has written the story and screenplay of Kal Ho Naa Ho, had already sounded him out and Shah Rukh was on board.

Karan had possibly told him much more about the film before narrating it to me.

When I finally took the script to him, he read only three pages -- the beginning, the interval point, and the scene where his character, Aman, tells his mother, played by Reema Lagoo, that he is dying.

Later, he sent me a handwritten note, which I have framed on my office wall, urging me to make his exit in Kal Ho Naa Ho as good as the entry scene in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

'I didn't want the death scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho to get too emotional'

It was the last scene to be shot, in a studio, with Shah Rukh lying in bed.

He had just shot a death scene for Devdas, which was very different from the one in Kal Ho Naa Ho.

I think he was slightly disappointed, but for our film, I was very categorical that I didn't want the death scene to get too emotional.

Karan's words were so strong and moving that I was confident they would strike a chord with the audience.

We had Aman say goodbye to the whole family, then, after Naina (Preity Zinta) leaves the room in tears, he is left alone with Rohit (Saif Ali Khan) who for a moment thinks he is gone.

But Aman's fly eyes open and with a laugh, he tells Rohit he's still around, making him promise that he will leave Naina for him in the next life.

You never actually see him die, you just know years later, from Naina and Rohit's conversation with her adopted sister and their daughter, that Aman had left the world, but had continued to influence every aspect of their lives.

It is one of the simplest scenes I have shot, but the words, the performances, the use of the title track left everyone watching it smiling tearfully.

'In two-three hours, the Kal Ho Naa Ho title song was ready'

The Kal Ho Naa Ho title track plays in all the emotional scenes.

This was the first time Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa were working with Dharma Productions.

I had driven down to Pune to discuss the film's score with them.

We were standing outside German Bakery when Loy, saying that he wanted the title track to be like Celina Dion's Titanic track My Heart Will Go On, hummed a tune.

I recorded it on my Nokia phone, and once we were back in the hotel, he played it on the piano.

Shankar added an antara, Ehsaan came up with another, and in two-three hours, the title song was ready.

When we played it to Javedsaab (Akhtar, lyricist), who was also there with us at Hotel Blue Diamond and he was overwhelmed.

He exulted, 'You guys have no idea what you have created, this is so simple and yet so profound.'

He admitted he needed time to come up with the right words.

'The words broke my heart'

Four months later, when I was returning from the shoot in New York, Javedsaab called me.

The Kal Ho Naa Ho title track, which we called the film's 'heartbeat', was ready.

Har ghadi badal rahi hai roop zindagi
Chaanv hai kabhi kabhi hai dhoop zindagi,
Har pal yahan jee bhar jiyo,
Jo hai samaa kal ho naa ho...

The words broke my heart.

It is a song, he asserted, that will play at all our shraddhanjalis (prayer meetings) when we depart the world.

Shankar wanted to sing it and even recorded a dummy track.

But Karan wanted Sonu (Nigam) to be Shah Rukh's voice in the film and Shaan, as Saif's.

Sonu did a remarkable job, but during the recording at Mumbai's Empire Studio, Shankar walked out halfway through.

Visibly upset, he told me, 'You took away my National Award.'

At the 51st National Film Awards, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy received the award for Best Music Direction and Sonu got it for Best Male Playback Singer as Shankar had predicted.

'Even Shah Rukh was blown away'

We shot the song in New York City at Central Park, and on the Brooklyn Bridge; crowded spots, but you don't see a single soul apart from Shah Rukh.

It took nine months of planning to pull off this shoot; we literally camped in the mayor's office for months.

I don't recall a thing apart from the chaos as everything needed to get done in the little time we had, we couldn't go back for even a single shot.

It a special song, and even after 20 years, it still resonates.

Even Shah Rukh, who has his own version of Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai, was blown away by it.

So was Karan, who told me frankly when I played it for him the first time that he hadn't thought I would be able to top Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

'But you have done better!' he raved.

'I dream of making another film with him'

I met Shah Rukh last at Pam (Chopra) aunty's funeral.

He was surrounded by people, but when I went up to him, he pulled me into that warm embrace, which hasn't changed in all these years.

Yes, I dream of making another film with him.

The thought of sitting across from him and narrating a story excites me.

But I also know that today, Shah Rukh is sitting so high up that it will have to be something really spectacular for him to jump up and say, 'Hey, yes, let's make this film!'

I've been rejected by a lot of actors, but I don't want Shah Rukh to say no to me.

So I'm waiting for the right subject before approaching him again.

'It was cute to see Rani and him at the National Awards'

This year will be memorable for both Rani (Mukerji) and Shah Rukh as they won the National Award for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively, an honour long overdue for both.

Rani should have bagged it years ago for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, an incredible performance.

There were five-six other films that were also very good, eventually, she received it for my film, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, and I couldn't be happier.

Ditto, Shah Rukh.

He deserved it earlier, for his performances in films like Swades and Chak De! India. Eventually he got it for a scintillating double role in Jawan.

It was cute to see Rani and him together at the National Award ceremony in Delhi; the way he smoothened her hair before she walked up to receive her citation from the President and later, after they had returned to their seats, the way she helped him wear the medal properly, then showed him how to check his reflection on his phone camera.

It would be lovely to make a mature love story with both of them.

Romance is what Shah Rukh has always been identified with, and it's been a while since he did a love story.

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff