Bollywood is coming to the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
EIFF on Friday confirmed that a special 30th anniversary celebration of the legendary Indian film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) will screen as part of the 2028 edition.
Partly filmed in Scotland, the beloved cult favorite — and Karan Johar’s directorial debut, following the love triangle between Rahul Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan), Anjali Sharma (Kajol) and Tina Malhotra (Rani Mukerji) — will return to the cinema to celebrate its enduring legacy as a landmark of Indian cinema, with Johar and other guests in attendance.
Johar was invited to mark Kuch Kuch Hota Hai‘s anniversary at the 2028 EIFF during a meeting he hosted in the Mumbai offices of his production company, Dharma Productions, earlier this week with the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and Screen Scotland’s interim executive director, David Smith.
The meeting, said EIFF, was focused on Scotland’s potential as a destination and partner for Indian film and television production, co-production, talent development and cultural exchange. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was the first major Indian production to film extensively across Scotland, including Eilean Donan Castle, Glen Coe, Tantallon Castle and Inchmahome Priory.
Swinney said: “It was a pleasure to meet Karan Johar in Mumbai […] I look forward to welcoming him to Edinburgh. During my visit to India, I met with people from the Indian film industry, including representatives from Dharma Productions, to discuss opportunities for future collaboration between Scottish and Indian filmmaking. Scotland’s screen industry has tremendous potential as a creative partner for Indian film and television, offering the infrastructure, expertise and world-class filming locations to support a wide range of productions.”
EIFF CEO and festival director Paul Ridd said his team is always thinking about the future and what’s next. “So we jumped at an opportunity like this,” he said, “to plant the seeds for a celebration of a legendary, much-loved film at our festival, a film featuring Scotland and some of the most iconic stars of Bollywood cinema on screen. We can’t wait for what promises to be something truly special for our 81st edition in 2028. But in the meantime, watch this space for more news of our 80th next August.”
The 80th Edinburgh International Film Festival is set to run Aug. 12-18.
