‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ Heads to Edinburgh for 30th Anniversary

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai will return to the big screen in Scotland for its 30th anniversary. The Edinburgh International Film Festival has confirmed a special screening for its 2028 edition, with director Karan Johar expected to attend alongside additional guests.

The 1998 romantic drama marked Johar’s feature directing debut and became one of the defining Hindi films of its era. Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji lead the story’s central love triangle, while Salman Khan appears as the fiancé of Kajol’s character, Anjali.

A celebration tied directly to Scotland

Edinburgh is more than a ceremonial venue for the anniversary. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was the first major Indian production to film extensively across Scotland, using locations including Eilean Donan Castle, Glen Coe, Tantallon Castle and Inchmahome Priory. Those landscapes helped give the film some of its most recognizable overseas sequences.

The invitation emerged from a meeting at Dharma Productions’ Mumbai offices involving Johar, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and Screen Scotland interim executive director David Smith. Their discussion covered future cooperation between the Scottish and Indian screen industries, including production, co-production, talent development and cultural exchange.

A film with a long international afterlife

Johar’s film follows Rahul, a widower whose young daughter tries to reunite him with Anjali, his college best friend. The story moves between youthful friendship, missed timing and adult responsibility, supported by a soundtrack that remains closely associated with late-1990s Bollywood.

The anniversary event gives Edinburgh a chance to celebrate both the movie’s cultural reach and Scotland’s role in its visual identity. It also arrives as Scottish film officials seek deeper relationships with Indian producers and position the country as a location for future projects.

Festival organizers have not yet announced the exact screening date or the full guest list. The broader 2028 program is still years away, but confirming Johar’s participation this early turns the anniversary into a major advance booking for the festival.

For longtime fans, the screening will offer a rare theatrical return for a film whose songs, performances and Scottish scenery have endured across generations.