Should Naina have ended up with Rohit?

Would Naina NOT ending up with Rohit have made Kal Ho Naa Ho a better film?

That doesn't mean she had to end up with Aman. No!!! Aman had to die!!! He had to die and not end up with Naina to make this film a tear-jerker and a classic. But that doesn't mean Naina had to end up with Rohit.

I know Rohit loved Naina, and Naina also loved Rohit, but Karan Johar failed to convince alot of people with this narrative. According to alot of people, Aman wanted Naina to move on after his death, and she moved on by marrying Rohit.

But here's the thing. Aman wanted to play God and did play God by manipulating the lives of Naina and Rohit. It also reinforces the whole idea of woman always needing a man as a shoulder to be happy.

The scene where Naina's mom tells her that she would regret rejecting Rohit's love in old age made it more clear. Women can't be happy if they're not married and have kids with a guy. I mean...why Naina can't move on without marrying Rohit? Even if Aman dies, why can't she?

Would marrying Rohit make it more easier for her to deal with grief? I don't think so. Aman wanting to control people's lives wasn't correct and shouldn't have been glorified. I doesn't make it okay just because he was dying.

Naina and Rohit are adults and could take their own decisions. It should have been Naina's choice even if she wanted to move on from Aman or not. She accepting Aman's manipulation and lies to control her life was wrong.

So what would've made Kal Ho Naa Ho a more feminist film in 2003? That after knowing about Aman's illness, Naina cancels her wedding with Rohit and convinces Aman, that she would move on after his death.

Whether Naina moved on or not, whether she married Rohit or someone else should've been left for imagination for the viewers. Aman pulling out the Dadi maa card of emotional blackmailing that "I'm dying...I want to see you married." was regressive as fuck.

But then, the whole film was pretty regressive although Karan Johar did fool the audience by making it look and feel modern due to the US setting.

I think after Aman, Rohit was the 2nd best choice for Naina. 👍🏼
Rohit was a confused soul, but he was Naina's best friend, even before she met Aman.

Naina anyways would've found it hard to settle with any man other than Rohit. And he loved her to bits so I have no problem with Naina ending up with Rohit.👍🏼

The regressive parts in the film were the "6 Din, Ladki Din" and "Kantabai" segments.🤪

As much as I love KHNH, the film was a pioneer in making gay-jokes mainstream. It practically taught an entire generation how to crack homophobic jokes. Dostana obviously took it to another level.😆

Funny that both are KJo's own films, who is now the biggest victim of homophobic abuses on SM.

Honestly, Naina, the character had a lot of daddy issues 😆

On a serious note, her entire image of men was ruined by her father and she really couldn't even tolerate the idea of marriage after seeing the kind of life her mother lead.

As much as I shipped Aman and Naina together, he was the maniac pixie guy trope for her. 😆 He bought her out of her shell and she fell for that, I don't think he truly knew Aman for the man he was.. he understood her pretty well but I doubt she understood him.

Rohit was a very confused guy but he loved her deeply, more than she could ever love him and he was her best friend. He was the best choice for her.

Because in real life, it is better to be with someone who loves you more than you love them. Sounds selfish but that's life.

Long time since I saw this film so I don't remember the details much but I guess it's more to do with the belief that companionship is necessary in life especially in old age? I donno

You make good topics.

I completely agree with you. First of all Naina and Rohit's pairing looked zabardasti wali to me. As you said, there was no need for Aman to play the matchmaker there, Naina was bold and mature enough to take her own decisions, she didn't have any romantic feelings for Rohit whatsoever, the ending was thoroughly disappointing!

I'd have loved if Naina ended up being her own person with Aman's teaching of living a life with her.

In fact a few years later when she'd have healed of the loss she would have dated someone (wouldn't mind even if it was Rohit) and got married because she WANTED to get married. It would have been a lot more respectful towards everyone.

Par nai bus train ki tarah ek gaya toh ek ka aana toh zaruri hi hai. Why can't the woman be her own person?

She married before he died, he wasnt trying to live and was suicidal while telling others to live life to the fullest .. Probably her marriage and sadness made his condition worst but he was anyway suicidal so yea .. Anyway she might not get someone better, even if she did, they whole getting to know a new person and then settling down, a lot of wasting time and energy

I found Rohit Naina cute

When I was a kid I really wanted Aman Naina but now I like Rohit more as a character and his bond with Naina

Naina, tose piya laage re

I think they made much better sense together than Naina and Aman.

As pointed out already, Aman was full of pixie dust and he helped Naina to come out of her shell but Naina knew Rohit for a really long time. The shittiest thing they could do was the Che Din Ladki In but keeping aside that, Naina did love Rohit dearly as a friend. In fact, at the very beginning she had a dialogue like Rohit made her forget her worries and deep down he was a really caring guy. This all happened much before Aman entered into her life. She had her daddy issues and wanted to avoid heartbreak but still Rohit managed to curve his own place in her heart, despite being a BOY. So that shows the amount of trust she had in him.

And as far as the regressive quotation of Jenny advising Naina is concerned, I do believe women can be happy by themselves and a love interest isn't mandatory. But at the same time companionship is also very real. You may be very happy in your own bubble but there might be instances when you feel lonely and want someone just to listen to your shit, someone to share your days with. Here it's all about companionship, not marriage, kids or Saat Janmo Ka Bandhan.

Naina was a loner and Rohit was her friend. When she found out about Aman's ploy she did say that she didn't just lose her love but the only friend she had ever had.

So in a Aman-less universe, I can imagine Naina and Rohit building a life together, even if her love towards him began platonically. They had mutual respect and Rohit loved her with all her bitterness. They would make it work, I guess.