Javed Akhtar called Karan Johar 'weird' and 'adamant', stepped out of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Sameer Anjaan called him before taking up the film

Karan Johar's directorial debut 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' achieved a cult status over the years and is still loved for its moments, songs and the nostalgia it brings. But did you know that veteran screenwriter and lyricist, Javed Akhtar had opted out of the film and later Sameer Anjaan wrote the lyrics. In a recent interview, Sameer recalled that he called Javed Akhtar before taking up the project out of respect towards him. Sameer said during an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “He is like a father figure to me,” Sameer said. “I even spoke to him over the phone. I told him, ‘Javed sahab, I hope you don’t feel bad, because you are senior to me and I came to know that you were supposed to write for this film. I wish to take your permission, are you writing for it, or aren’t you?’ He said, ‘I am not writing it, and I would advise you not to write for it either because the director is weird and adamant and he doesn’t listen.’ I said I’ll talk to him later, but please tell me if you are doing it. He said, ‘No, I am not at all doing it, Sameer.’” Despite the warning, Sameer decided to go ahead after hearing the narration. “Then I heard the story and liked it a lot. I didn’t find anything wrong with the title. The story was brilliant. And when I connected with the director’s thought process during the two-and-a-half or three-hour narration, I was very much impressed. I felt I should do this film. The star cast was great,” he explained.He also clarified that the opportunity came to him through Yash Chopra rather than Karan Johar. “Yash ji was also supporting him (Karan). Half of the time, Karan grew up at Yash ji’s place. He also did a small role in Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” Sameer said. “I was called for the film by Yash Chopra, not by Karan Johar. He said that since Javed sahab isn’t writing it, he only has two lyricists, Bakshi sahab and me, and Karan didn’t want to work with an older writer. He asked for a younger writer. Yashji then suggested my name, and Karan readily agreed to meet me. That’s how I got the film. I tried my best to do good work. The music was declared the best of the century. It’s a blessing from God.”In an earlier interaction with The Lallantop, Sameer had also explained why Javed Akhtar stepped away from the film. “Javed sahab was supposed to write the songs for this film. However, he quit the movie because he didn’t like the title. He asked Karan Johar to change the title, and only then would he work on it. He liked the story but felt the title was vulgar.”Javed himself has acknowledged this in several interviews. In a chat with comedian Sapan Verma, he said, “I consider the 80’s to be the darkest time for Hindi cinema. People were either writing double-meaning songs or songs with no meaning at all. I avoid films that, in any way, had lyrics I found absurd or vulgar. This principle led me to turn down a very successful film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I had written the first song for it, but when Karan decided on the title, I refused to work on a film with that name. I thought, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai… kya hota hai? I regret it now, but at that time, I refused.”