Juhi Chawla recalls strained equation with Shah Rukh Khan after their production company folded; says kids Janhvi, Arjun ‘bawled' when KKR lost

Indian Express

26-05-2025

Apart from starring in blockbusters like Darr, Yes Boss, Duplicate, and more, Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan are also co-owners of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Although KKR has won three IPL trophies since the tournament's inception 17 years ago, the team had a rough start and performed poorly during the initial years. In an earlier interaction, Juhi shared that her kids — Arjun Mehta and Jhanvi Mehta — would often cry during those early IPL seasons as their team frequently finished at the bottom of the table.
Speaking to Rajeev Masand in an old interview, Juhi said, 'Those were trying times when during first initial years, KKR would come at the bottom of the list and my kids would cry saying, 'What is this team you have?' And they would go to the Dhirubhai Ambani International School and it wasn't easy for them.' Dhirubhai Ambani International School is owned by the Ambani family — who also own Mumbai Indians, KKR's rival team.
In addition to acting in many iconic films, Shah Rukh and Juhi also ventured into film production in 1999 by launching their own banner, Dreamz Unlimited, alongside director Aziz Mirza. However, after producing three films — Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Asoka, and Chalte Chalte — the production house eventually shut down. In the same conversation, Juhi explained the reason behind its closure and also reflected on the tense period when she and Shah Rukh did not speak after Dreamz Unlimited came to an end.
She said, 'We made Ashoka that won a lot of critical acclaim but didn't do well at box office. Then they started Chalte Chalte. I was helping behind-the-scene but then I was expecting at that time and I had to go away and I was in London for a lot of the time. They made the film. After that…I don't know why. Then Aziz Mirza lost his wife and was heart broken and then, I don't know why, but we didn't make more films in Dreamz because we needed Aziz ji to come up with more scripts.'
Speaking about how the end of the production company impacted her relationship with Shah Rukh, Juhi said, 'At that time my work changed and my family was growing, I was moving in another direction. Earlier, we were on set together and then you work behind-the-scene but later you are further away from each other. Also, my nature of work changed, I was suddenly started doing films like 3 Deewarein, My Brother…Nikhil, Jhankaar Beats and others.'