Kal Ho Naa Ho is a cult classic, but that doesn’t mean it is perfect. The movie’s protagonist, Naina is one of the worst friends ever written in Bollywood. Not just that, she is a walking red flag, who needed therapy and not a boyfriend(s) who’d magically ‘fix’ her.
Here are some red flags we wish we’d seen earlier:
1. She called Sweetu Aishwarya Rai ka ghar! She body shamed her ‘best friend’, and constantly made her feel lesser than. I get it, you’re the main character, but she had a life too.
2. She used Rohit as a fake boyfriend by making him believe she was interested. That’s a fuckboi move right there.
3. She was absolutely terrible to a family who had nothing to do with her! This sweet happy family came all the way from India for you and you treated them badly because you’re mad at your grandma? But what did they even do? Except think you were a nice person they’d want to bring into their family.
4. Naina isn’t nice to anyone, is she? I mean, she’s snarky with her brother and rude to her mother, who she should be supporting emotionally since they both lost her father. But nope, Naina is going to hold a grudge and not go to therapy like an adult should.
5. She knew Rohit loved her, and even though she didn’t reciprocate his feelings, she didn’t need to disregard his feelings completely. He was there with her through thick and thin, only to have her blow up in his face because she didn’t like him romantically.
6. She is condescending. Sorry if that’s harsh, but the way she describes her mom’s friend and Sweetu’s sister, Jazz is not nice if we’re being honest.
7. Again, can’t this girl give Sweetu a break? So what if she’s interested in Frankie Ramdayal? Even toxic Aman can see that Sweetu likes a cute boy and is ready to be her wingman.
8. Okay, Naina did not deserve sweet Sweetu. Why was she so horrible when Sweetu said Frankie broke up with her? Do you expect Sweetu to say ‘I don’t blame him’ and roll her eyes when Rohit (who you don’t deserve), dumps your ass?
Sorry Naina, you didn’t deserve Rohit.
All images are screenshots from the film on Netflix.