The sense of nostalgia recently struck Bollywood fans when artificial intelligence revived the popular 1998 romantic film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, remaking the legendary characters in the movie with the modern stars. The AI-created images, which have been circulated on Instagram by a fan page that has more than a thousand followers, put Ranbir Kapoor in the role of Rahul, who was played by Shah Rukh Khan, and Deepika Padukone in the role of Tina and Anjali, which was played by Alia Bhatt.
Relive the nostalgia with Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika and Alia
In a creative touch, Ranveer Singh is seen as Aman who was portrayed as Salman Khan in the original. The AI images re-create some of the most iconic scenes in the film, like the famous friendship-bracelet scenes as well as the dramatic scenes between the two main characters. The excitement and curiosity of fans online introduced speculation of how these contemporary stars could introduce a new taste into the emotional ups and downs that made Kuch Kuch Hota Hai a cult Bollywood classic.
What is more, some AI artists have gone as far as creating short video clips, recombining the new cast into the familiar scenes, which only continue the discussion in the social media. The creative exercise also helps to exploit the nostalgia, but also emphasizes the changing role of AI within the pop culture, both as a basic edit and as a more adventurous experiment with stories.
The re-invented cast also reflects some of the dreams as indicated by the original director of the film, Karan Johar. In a 2025 podcast appearance, Johar once said that his hypothetical dream cast of a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai remake would include Ranveer, Alia and Ananya Panday in lead roles, although this is slightly different to the lineup of the AI. He also unhesitatingly considered some of the gender replications used in the original film and referred to parts of the film story as cringy in hindsight.
Although it might not be officially remade, the images created by AI have sparked the desire to love the original anew and generate some interest in how the timeless plot will be received by the younger generation.
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