Karan Johar double bonanza for fans Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna series Koffee with Karan 9

Filmmaker Karan Johar has said his 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is being adapted into a long-form series. He said the larger format would give the story and its characters more space than a feature film could. The film drew sharply divided reactions when it was released because it dealt with infidelity within marriage.

Johar also confirmed that his celebrity talk show Koffee with Karan will return this year. He also revealed when fans can expect the ninth season of his celebrity chat show to premiere.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna to be reimagined as series

Talking about Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna to The Week, Johar said the film had faced polarised responses in 2006. “I had many people come up to me and ask me whether I was unwell after that film, because they said, ‘How can you endorse infidelity?’ And I was like, ‘How can you endorse something that’s already so sold out’?”

He also recalled an incident from a screening held a day before the film’s release. Johar said a traditional couple in the audience were watching the scene in which Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji’s characters check into a hotel room. He said the woman turned dramatically to her husband, and the husband calmly told her, ‘It’s a dream sequence.’ A few minutes later, when they realised it was not a dream sequence, the couple got up and left the screening.

Johar said that moment stayed with him because it showed how divided audiences can be. “And then I realised that we are in such a polarised audience space, that people judge what happens in their homes, they forget it, they brush it under the carpet, but they don’t want to watch it on celluloid, even though it’s probably a reality in their own home,” he added.

Speaking about the upcoming adaptation, Johar said they are developing a long-form series for a streaming platform. The filmmaker added that he cannot reveal many details yet, but the show will be out soon.

Koffee with Karan to return with Season 9

On Koffee with Karan, Johar kept his update brief. Asked about the show’s return, he said, ‘This year, Diwali, season 9.’

With that, he confirmed the return of a programme that has remained one of Hindi cinema’s most discussed talk shows because of its candid conversations and the debates that often follow.

Other projects in the pipeline

Karan is reportedly preparing to direct his eighth film, a large-scale family drama backed by Dharma Productions, set for release in 2026.

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