It’s been 23 years since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai hit the screens and this Karan Johar cult classic is still a favourite. However, when you sit down to watch the movie as a millennial, you are bound to find a truck load of problems in this movie. From being blatantly sexist in some scenes to downright misogynistic in the others. Here is everything that was wrong with it.
Anjali’s Eight! Why Does She Have To Reunite These Grown Ass Adults?
Tina, you came between the two of them and you clearly realised this when you were still alive. Then why did you wait till you died to become righteous? Why not tell Rahul all this yourself, when you were right next to him, married to him. Why burden you eight-year-old child, with the responsibility of reuniting her man-child father with his childhood friend. She’s a school-kid with pigtails, not Jane Austen’s Emma!
Rahul Was A Creepy Father
Rahul was a single dad and that can come with its own set of problems. But he left his daughter at a random bridge for two hours, alone! This dialogue exchange made everyone in the audience cringe. Rahul, please don’t be creepy.
Anjali Isn’t Like ‘Other Girls’ Because Other Girls Put On Make-up, Right?
Thanks for reinstating the sexist notion that women dress up for men or to make up for their lack of intellect. But can I ask you something Karan Johar, what was Anjali doing in the second half of the film, with her make-up and saree? Was she compensating for losing her mind after falling in love with a man like Rahul?
Principle Malhotra Was Sexist, Till It Came Down To His Crush
Principle Malhotra yelling this on top of his lungs is the opening scene. Only to be followed by a snarky line saying he’ll complain to the mothers of these girls that they are trying to ‘excite’ boys with their short skirts. You run a university, how can you be so archaic? Also, why was it okay for Ms. Briganza to wear skirts then?
Tina Is Supposed To Be Breaking Down Barriers By Being Cool & Sankaari But Something Is Off
Tina was a product of the society, she went to Oxford and wanted to be a progressive woman but she was also constantly pressurised into fitting into the box. Which is why maybe Karan Johar felt the need to establish her sanskaari nature, because what would she be without it? Just a normal girl.
Rahul Whistled At A Teacher! NO
Remember how Rahul whistled at Ms. Briganza just before the Pyar Dosti Hai scene? How was that acceptable? Cat calling is sexual harassment, so stop being sleezy. I just wish Rahul got called out in the first scene, then he wouldn’t have made it far enough to pull out Anjali’s saree in the basket ball scene.
Rahul Is Anjali’s Best Friend And Yet Is The First To Laugh At Her With His Girlfriend
Anjali was just a naive girl trying to impress her crush. And TBH, the only character in this movie we all related to and she was brutally ridiculed by her own best friend and his girlfriend. Instead of giving her pointers on how to dress and do her make-up better, these two do a pretty good job of chasing her out of college.
Rifat Bi Was Mean AF
She shamed the girls in her hostel who were just having a day of self-care. On the other hand, she wasn’t happy about Anjali not joining the girl-gang and being aloof, she even shamed her for not ‘attracting’ boys. Women support women, we don’t go nickpicking at them.
The Neelam Show Promoted Cheating
A guy dumped his girlfriend on national television by simply saying that he had found someone else! Poor girl, this is where the term fuckboy was first born.
Anjali Automatically Becomes Attractive After Completely Transforming Herself
All her life, Anjali was an amazing best friend but Rahul refused to pay attention to her till she donned a saree. Why does a woman need to change the way she dresses in order to get male attention? And of course, as soon as he saw her in a saree, the background music changed. Now she was worth his affection!
Rahul’s Toxic Masculinity
Lets be honest, Rahul sucked at basket ball and lost to Anjali fair and square. But years later, he just couldn’t admit that he was cheater and kept asking for a rematch. Grown up!
Why Does No One Tell Aman That He Is Just A Back-Up Partner?
Literally no one bothers telling Aman that Anjali doesn’t love him. When he asks her mom, his question is met with dead silence. When Anjali conveniently forgets mentioning Aman during her romantic rendezvous with Rahul, a lot of us ended up feeling bad for him. That was till he started saying toxic stuff like, ‘haath pakad ke mandap le jaoonga,‘ and broke a million feminist hearts! But nothing changes the fact that he was wronged.
Rahul Literally Waited Till Her Wedding Day To Tell Anjali He Loves Her
You had all your adulthood to tell your best friend that you have feelings for her and yet, you waited till her wedding day to tell her you love her. What made you think she would drop everything to ride away into the sunset with you leaving behind a loving fiance? She did, so nevermind.
In True Bollywood Fashion, Fuck The Third Person In This Love Triangle
The movie ended with Aman standing heartbroken next to little Anjali. So what happened to him? Did he end up dating VJ Neelam? Did he wait for Anjali to get legal so he could date her and have the ultimate revenge on Rahul? Who knows, because clearly no one cares about the poor third-wheel.
In an interview with PTI, Karan Johar actually admitted that the movie was silly and it gave us a great deal of satisfaction!