'An entire lifetime of memories, in a heartbeat!': Karan Johar on 19 years of Kal Ho Naa Ho; shares BTS stills with Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta

It's been 19 years since Kal Ho Naa Ho hit the big screen. The soulful romantic comedy-drama was Nikkhil Advani's first film as a director, and Karan Johar wrote the screenplay. Kal Ho Naa Ho, which was released in 2003, starred Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Preity Zinta in the lead roles. Jaya Bachchan, Sushma Seth, Reema Lagoo, Lillete Dubey, and Delnaaz Paul were seen in supporting roles.

Today, on the occasion of Kal Ho Naa Ho's 19th anniversary, Karan took to social media pages and shared a few BTS stills featuring Shah Rukh, Saif, Preity, Nikkhil, and also Athit Naik. Along with the photos, the filmmaker penned a heartfelt note, which read, "An entire lifetime of memories, in a heartbeat! This film gave so much more than just that—it gave me joy, unbreakable bonds, a different lens for story telling, and of course, the last film set I could be on with my father. And for that, I will forever be grateful to this film!"

In Kal Ho Naa Ho, Shah Rukh Khan plays Aman Mathur, who falls in love with Naina Catherine Kapur (Zinta) but can't tell her. This leads to a scheme to match Naina up with her closest friend, Rohit Patel (Saif Ali Khan).

As per reports, earlier, while talking about the title Kal Ho Naa Ho, KJo had said, "It's about smiling and being happy today because no one has seen tomorrow. That's what I believe. Live for today because you never know what's in store for tomorrow."

Kal Ho Naa Ho, according to Advani, is the tale of a family that is plagued by numerous problems. One man enters their lives, resolves all of their issues, and helps them realise that their problems are not as severe as they initially thought.

At the 51st National Film Awards, Sonu Nigam won the Best Male Playback Singer honour, while Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy won the Best Music Direction award.