Yes, the cover photo is not from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai but from the 2015 film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, where there is a scene of the protagonist Bajrangi (Salman Khan) getting invited into the mosque by an Imam after being seen sleeping near the entrance. Bajrangi replied he couldn’t. The Imam asked why. He answered that he is not a Muslim. To that, the Imam laughed out loud and said “So what, brother? This place is open for everyone.”
Since its release in 1998, I finally got to watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai for the first time last month on TV3. Apart from realizing that it is a borderline musical feature like La La Land, (which I watch right before it) it has some subtle things to say on the subject of faith, like the intro on Bajrangi Bhaijaan earlier.
OF FAITH It is revealed quite early in the movie and for a first-timer, it catches me right away. It was the scene when Rahul's mother (who is a Muslim) heads the preaching after the Koran recitation session and talked about Godliness. She said,
"That is why one says, there is only one god in many forms. No matter what form he knows our devotion. It is important to keep this bond with god."
She did that with the Koran open in front of her. Despite it is a bit preachy and not so subtle, from there I know this film is just more than a love triangle and musical.
In another scene, the young girl defines the word 'pooja'. It is apparent that it was what being taught by her parents. Her father taught her that praying will keep god happy and in return, he will protect us. Her mother taught her that by praying, her grandmother will be impressed and leave them the big house in her will. It shows two kinds of faith and indoctrination.
Nearing the third act, the young Anjali who is a Hindu, wears a headscarf and prays in front of the Koran for the older Anjali’s wedding to be postponed. At the same time, the bride’s mother was consulting a Hindu astrologist on the best wedding date. In the end, the stars in the heavens, prayers, and fate (despite coming from different religions) played a role in the union between older Anjali and Rahul in the ending. And TV3 does not censor this, compared to the Indonesian cut of the movie.
OF FATE I have mentioned earlier that La La Land and its similarities with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. It is about their main protagonist’s relationship. Rahul and Anjali got together in the end despite Anjali almost accepting the fate that she is meant to be with Aman (Salman Khan), although she loves him not.
In La La Land, when the character Mia saw Sebastian again after years of marriage to another guy, it opens up an old feeling inside her. Of true love.
Yet the perfect love between Mia and Sebastian only would have happened in fantasy, as it is brilliantly shown as a dream-like sequence near the ending. After that is over, Sebastian nods in acknowledgment and Mia smiled back as the mutual sign of their acceptance of fate. Forgiving themselves and moving on.
That could’ve been the ending for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai too. But the theaters in India would’ve been set on fire if Rahul didn’t get to be with Anjali at the end.
These are subtle yet profound ways of tackling the subject of divinity and His script of life also the synthesis of faiths and beliefs. To question what is true love and the union of marriage. Aptly, the meaning of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is 'Something happened'.
The first scene of the film shows Rahul standing near his wife's Anjali funeral pyre. The last scene is of two Anjalis communicating between two worlds and into the realm of immortality.
