Himani Shivpuri Reveals Reason Karan Johar to Film With Dharma Productions After Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
Veteran actor Himani Shivpuri may have a reason why she was never seen in a Dharma Productions film after appearing in Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. The actor says the root cause can be traced back to her “bindaas” comment on the last day of K3G shoot. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Himani Shivpuri said she had a “lovely role” in Shah Rukh Khan’s Kuch Hota Hai, which was followed by her part in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But, it was during the casting of Kal Ho Naa Ho that Himani realised that something was amiss and she might have offended Karan Johar.
“During the last scene (of K3G), Karan Johar came to me and said, ‘Lovely working with you Himani ji, you are my lucky mascot!’ I told him ‘please, from next time, give me a good role’. He said ‘yes Himani ji, I will’.”
The actor then recalled meeting Nikkhil Advani at a screening, where he told her that Kal Ho Na Ho was going on floors and he wanted her on board.
“I asked Yash Johar, who was standing there, for signing amount and he gave me a dollar! I told my secretary that he should meet Nikkhil because I spoke to him but when he met them, he was told there was no such role for me. Then a few more Dharma films went by, I was not called, so I was left wondering what was happening.”
Himani Shivpuri recalled bumping into Karan Johar at an award show later, where she asked him what happened since she was not cast in Kal Ho Na Ho despite Nikkhil approaching her.
“Karan told me, ‘No no Himani ji, that role wasn’t good enough for you. Aapke layak role hoga na tab bulayege aapko (If there is something that is good enough for you, we will call you). Then it struck me, ki meri baat shayad lag gayi (that what I told him, he got offended). That’s where the chapter ended. I do feel bad, it used to be a lot of fun. We would gossip a lot and were good pals. Maybe we didn’t meet so often that we could break the ice,” she added.
In Karan’s debut film, Himani played Riffat Bi, who plays a warden at Kajol’s hostel and is instrumental in getting Shah Rukh and Kajol’s characters back together. In K3G, she played Haldiram’s (Johnny Lever) wife.
After Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Karan Johar directed five more films, his last being Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. The filmmaker is now gearing up to direct his next film, which is said to be an actioner.
Himani Shivpuri speaks why Dharma Productions Don’t Film With Her
