This actress was part of Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, but was later eliminated from Kal Ho Naa Ho, due to her comment to the filmmaker.
Karan Johar began his career with the iconic romantic drama Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, followed by the hit family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. In both these films, apart from Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Johnny Lever, another actress appeared, and Karan would consider her his “lucky pet”.
However, despite calling her a lucky mascot, Karan never worked with her again after K3G, and the actress revealed that the reason behind this is her 'bindass' comment that left the director offended.
Karan Johar's 'lucky pet' who offended him was…
Veteran actress Himani Shivpuri played director Riffat Bi in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. In K3G, she played Haldiram's (Johnny Lever) wife. However, after the two films, Himani never worked with Dharma Productions again, and the actress spoke about the issue in a recent interview. While talking to Siddharth Kannan, Himani recalled that during the last day of shooting for K3G, she asked Karan to give her better roles. During the making of Kal Ho Naa Ho, Himani realised that her comment had offended Karan, which is why he did not give her a role in the film starring SRK, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan.
Himani said, “During the last scene (of K3G), Karan Johar came up to me and said, 'It's so nice working with you, Himani ji, you are my lucky mascot!' I said, 'Please give me a good role next time.' He said, 'Yes, Himani ji, I will do it.'” She then said that at a screening, she met Nikkhil Advani, who told her that Kal Ho Na Ho was going to work on the sets and that he wanted her on board.
Himani said she even received a dollar from Karan’s father as a signing fee, but she was not considered for the film. “I asked Yash Johar, who was there, for the signing fee and he gave me a dollar. I told my secretary that she should meet Nikkhil because she had spoken to him, but when she met them, they told her there was no role for me. Then a few more Dharma films went by and they didn’t call me, so I was left wondering what was going on.”
When Himani confronted Karan
A few months after Kal Ho Naa Ho, Karan met Himani at an awards function, and she asked him why he didn't consider her for Kal Ho Naa Ho even after Nikkhil Advani approached him. “Karan told me, 'No, no Himani ji, that role was not good enough for you. Aapke layak role hoga na tab bulayege aapko (If there is something that is good enough for you, we will call you). Then it occurred to me, ki meri baat shayad lag gayi (that's when I thought he has taken offence). That's where the chapter ended. I feel bad, it used to be so much fun. We would gossip a lot and were good friends. Maybe we didn't see each other that often that we could break the ice.” Karan's last directorial outing was Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Currently, he is working on his next directorial outing, which will be an action film.
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