Before Gurinder Chadha started filming It’s A Wonderful Afterlife in London last year, she gave her script to Karan Johar to read. The writer-director wanted his opinion. Luckily for her, Karan absolutely loved the script. Reveals an elated Gurinder, “He told me that I must make the film.” In fact, Gurinder pays a tribute of sorts to her good friend, as a line from the title track of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has been used at a comic juncture in the film.
As luck would have it, Karan was also one of the first industry persons to watch the film, which opened on 23rd April in the UK. He watched it at a cinema in London, where he had stopped over for a day on his way to Los Angeles. Incidentally, Gurinder was flown down to Mumbai by the film’s co-producers and Indian distributors, Studio 18 on the 23rd. “We probably crossed each other’s paths in the sky,” laughed Gurinder whose English language film (the original) and also its dubbed Hindi version, Hai Marjawaan!, are both due for an Indian release on May 7.
“I’ve seen the the original English version so many times that I’ve lost count. It’s the most Indian film I’ve ever made. I’m sure that people are going to love it. I’m actually looking forward to watching the dubbed version, Hai Marjawaan!, on Friday,” she adds.
The audience should be careful about checking which version (English or Hindi) they’re going to watch before buying cinema tickets. Both the versions release theatrically in India this week.
