Kajol on Gen Z rediscovering her films, says younger viewers want movies like ‘K3G’ and ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ made with passion and romance

Kajol is witnessing an interesting change as younger audiences revisit films from the 1990s and early 2000s. With ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ marking 25 years, the actor says viewers who were not even born when some of her popular films released are now discovering her work and sharing their reactions with her.

Younger viewers are revisiting her popular films

Kajol says there has been a noticeable resurgence of interest in the cinema of her era. She has encountered young fans who have recently watched some of her best-known films, including ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and ‘Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha’. “There is a whole revival of the ’90s and 2000s scene that has come up,” she shared with HIndustan Times.Describing her interactions with younger viewers, she adds, “Younger people come up to me and say, ‘Oh, we just watched K3G. We’ve just watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). We’ve just watched Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha (1998). What a cool film it is!’ It’s very exciting.”For Kajol, the renewed attention is not simply about looking back at an earlier era. She believes today’s younger audiences are also connecting with the emotional and romantic style that was characteristic of films made during that period.

Kajol remembers Anjali from ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’

When asked which of her characters remains closest to her personality, Kajol immediately picked Anjali from ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’.“Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I feel like there I was a tomboy then!” she quips.Her character in the Karan Johar directorial became one of the memorable personalities of 1990s Hindi cinema, particularly for her tomboyish appearance and energetic personality.

Why 90s films continue to attract Gen Z

Kajol feels films from her era carried a certain innocence and romanticism that audiences may be looking for today.“There is that whole wanting to, you know, watch films like that, which were somewhere, I think, made with a lot of passion and cleanliness,” she says.She further explains, “They were kind of much more romanticised than films today. So I think people want films like that. They want to watch films like that. I hope we can make films like that till today.”The actor believes the growing interest in older movies could also point towards an appetite for stories that bring back that particular emotional quality.

Her children are not eager to watch her films

While Gen Z audiences outside her family are rediscovering Kajol’s work, her own children, Nysa Devgn and Yug Devgn, apparently do not share the same enthusiasm for watching their mother’s movies.Kajol says her children feel she can be too convincing while performing emotional scenes.“They feel I’m a little too convincing in films and that I’m too good an actor at times!” she says.Explaining why they avoid watching some of her movies, she adds, “They’re like, ‘We don’t watch your movies because we don’t want to watch our mum cry too much.’”Kajol finds the situation amusing and jokes about how her acting ability may actually be the reason her children stay away from her films.“If I was a bad actor, maybe they would have seen more of my films. But because I cry so well on screen, they’re like, no, we don’t watch your movies because we don’t want to watch our mom cry too much on screen.”

Kajol dismisses speculation around her projects

After spending several decades in the film industry, Kajol has also become accustomed to reports and speculation surrounding her career. Several reports have linked her to upcoming projects, including Atlee and Allu Arjun’s ‘Raaka’, earlier referred to as ‘AA22xA6’, as well as Prabhas-starrer ‘Spirit’.However, the actor says she does not spend much time worrying about such reports. “I don’t pay attention to all of these news articles, really. I mean, 90% of them are all rubbish anyway,” she says. Kajol also makes it clear that audiences will not have to wait long for confirmation once she officially signs a project. “The day I do sign a film, I’m very clear about it. People will know within minutes, everybody will know that I’m doing this.”

Kajol’s upcoming projects

Kajol was last seen in the thriller ‘Do Patti’ and the horror drama ‘Maa’. She is now preparing for her next major big-screen appearance in ‘Maharagni’.