Actors Kajol and Kriti Sanon recently appeared on Expresso to promote their upcoming Netflix thriller ‘Do Patti’. During the conversation, Kajol reflected on two of her most iconic films, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, discussing some of the controversial decisions her characters made in the romantic dramas, where she starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Kajol acknowledged that in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, her character made a ‘toxic choice’ when deciding between a “green flag” and a “red flag” character.
She joked, “It was correct script-wise.” Kajol was also questioned about some of the decisions her character Simran made in *DDLJ*, to which she responded, “I didn’t agree with Simran in a lot of places.” When Kriti mentioned that SRK’s character Raj also fasted on Karwa Chauth for her, Kajol quipped, “Haan toh? I don’t understand why people have to starve themselves. Bhookha kisko rehna hai?”
Kajol shared that she wishes she “had known the effect” ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ would have on society, when it was mentioned that the Karwa Chauth scenes in these films helped popularize the tradition.
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When asked if she ever feels guilty for contributing to the pressure on women to look beautiful while fasting, she replied, “Not at all! I don’t feel guilty for all these things. I don’t feel guilty for eating also. Never feel guilty for eating. I don’t feel guilty, I eat. That’s why I look like I’m from a khata-peeta khaandan. Films reflect society, and society is a reflection of films. Yes, we can influence them up to a point, but I don’t think it’s all about the film either. Films do influence society, no two ways about it, but saying that I should feel guilty because people are keeping Karwa Chauth fast is a bit much. Women feel pressure because they put pressure on themselves. Have you seen ‘Barbie’? I love the rant that she does. I feel all these pressures we women take upon ourselves. Most of our pressures are what we term as the ‘good girl effect.’ We want to be good women, and that’s what we’ve been taught since the time we were probably in our mothers’ wombs. Feminism has nothing to do with a man; it has to do with a woman, and how she sees herself. If I see myself as beautiful, strong, and balanced, then I am beautiful, strong, and balanced. Nobody in this world can convince me otherwise.”
Meanwhile, director Karan Johar has frequently apologized for the “flawed” gender politics of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. Speaking at an IIMUN event, he admitted, “I feel like I have grown as an individual. The first film that I made, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, I firmly believe that the gender politics of that film was all wrong. It is propagating incorrect gender politics, there is a lot of surfacesness in that film. Of course, there is nostalgia so you love it, but you don’t scratch the surface of the film and see that what Rahul is doing is actually not what I would want all the Rahuls in the audience, or all the boys in general, to do.”
Kajol and Kriti Sanon will be seen together in ‘Do Patti’, which is set to release on Netflix this Friday.
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