Rani Mukerji & Karan Johar Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

The 1990s belonged to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai; the 2010s to Bombay Talkies. Rani Mukerji acted in every film; Karan Johar directed all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Karan Johar cast Rani Mukerji in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) because he needed someone who could convincingly play a tomboyish college girl — and she was the only actress he auditioned who didn't wear makeup to the meeting.
• On the sets of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Rani would deliberately mess up her lines to make Karan laugh during intense scenes — he'd then reset the mood by shouting 'Action!' louder than usual, which became their unspoken reset button.
• Their pairing in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) directly inspired the 'best friend turned lover' trope that Bollywood overused for the next decade — every 2000s rom-com with a female lead pining for her male best friend owes a debt to Rani's character Anjali.
• Rani is the only actress Karan Johar has ever called 'my lucky charm' in public — he said she was the first person he called after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai became a blockbuster, and they celebrated with chai at his house at 3 AM.
• Karan Johar once said about Rani: 'She is the only actor who can make me cry on set and then laugh in the next shot — I don't know how she does it, but I trust her completely.'