Karan shared, “One was with Kareena way back in 2003; we didn’t speak for a year and a half. It was over a film, it was over Kal Ho Na Ho, and it was only when my father was diagnosed with cancer that she actually called me. She was silent, I was silent. She said, ‘I don’t know what to say,’ and I responded, ‘Don’t say anything. I know you are there.'”
He continued, “When he passed away, she was in Bangkok, we still had not mended. The moment she landed from her shoot, she came home. We spent all night just chatting. We went back to where we were. When we fought, I said I was never going to speak with her again. It happened years later, with Kajol, which was also like such an emotional bond. We felt we would never be together, but both landed up.”
Karan had earlier revealed in his autobiography, An Unsuitable Boy, details about this specific phase of his friendship with Kareena. According to the autobiography, Karan had approached Kareena for his film Kal Ho Naa Ho before casting Preity Zinta for the role of Naina Catherine Kapur.
He wrote, “My first problem was with Kareena. She asked for too much money, and we had some kind of fallout at that time. Mujhse Dosti Karoge! had just released, directed by Kunal Kohli. She said, ‘Aditya Chopra’s assistant Kunal Kohli has made this flop, so Karan Johar’s assistant, Nikhil Advani, is not to be trusted either.'”
“The weekend of Mujhse Dosti Karoge’s release, I offered her Kal Ho Naa Ho, and she asked for the same (amount of) money that Shah Rukh Khan was getting. I said, ‘Sorry.’ I was very hurt. I told my father, ‘Leave that negotiation room,’ and I called her. She didn’t take my call, and I said, ‘We’re not taking her.’ And signed Preity Zinta instead.”
Karan admitted that they hadn’t spoken to each other for more than nine months and acknowledged that it was very idiotic on his part as Kareena was much younger, a decade younger than him.
Now, they are extremely close and are frequently spotted partying together. They have also collaborated on several movies, including Good Newwz, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…, Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, Bombay Talkies, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, We Are Family, and Kurbaan.
