Karan Johar recently said that he will be adapting his controversial 2006 film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna into a long-form series. The film, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Amitabh Bachchan, dealt with infidelity and was a tough swallow for Indian audiences at the time of its release.

In a conversation with The Week, Karan spoke about the film’s reception and the reactions it triggered. He said, “We’re actually adapting it into a long-form series. The root of that film, it was, of course, released in 2006 to very polarised responses. 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’?”

“I still remember when I was watching the film with an audience a day prior to its release. There was a very traditional couple watching the film, and there’s a moment where Shah Rukh and Rani check into a hotel room. The lady, she had come with her husband, turned dramatically to him, and he very calmly said, ‘It’s a dream sequence.’ After five minutes, they realised it was not a dream sequence, and then they got up and left. 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 about the series, “So we’re doing a series, a long-form show for a platform, which I’m not able to give you too many details about right now, but it will be out soon.” During the interaction, Karan also announced that he will be returning with his talk show Koffee With Karan soon, “This year, Diwali, season 9,” he said.