Shah Rukh Khan's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa co-star refused to play his sister: 'I was in love'

A co-star from Shah Rukh Khan's cult 1994 film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa has made a candid revelation: she turned down the role of his sister in the film because she was in love with him. The disclosure, shared in a conversation with The Indian Express, adds a warm and unexpectedly personal footnote to the story of one of early SRK's most celebrated performances.

Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, directed by Kundan Shah, is fondly remembered as the film Shah Rukh Khan himself has repeatedly cited as a personal favourite — a comedy-drama in which he played a lovable underachiever. The film's ensemble cast and its intimate, low-key charm set it apart from the bigger-budget romances that would define his later career, and stories from its making carry an affectionate place in Bollywood lore.

The co-star's refusal to be cast as a sibling figure — owing to real feelings for Khan — is the kind of behind-the-scenes detail that fans of classic Bollywood relish. It speaks to the blurred lines between on-screen chemistry and off-screen emotion that were a quiet undercurrent in the industry's formative decades.

The revelation arrives at a time when SRK's extraordinary comeback — following a string of box-office hits in recent years — has reignited global interest in his entire filmography, prompting a fresh wave of revisiting his older, smaller films. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, in particular, has found new audiences through streaming platforms.