Karan Johar's series Nazdeekiyan to draw inspiration from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

Karan Johar. Pic/Instagram

In March, Prime Video announced Nazdeekiyan, produced by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment, as part of its 2026 slate. Revolving around two couples, the upcoming series explores themes of loyalty, duty, and desire. Sounds familiar? It did to us, too. Perhaps Johar did not look too far for inspiration when creating this show. Sources have told mid-day that ‘Nazdeekiyan' is inspired by the filmmaker's all-star offering, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006).

Taha Shah Badussha and Nikita Dutta star in the upcoming series. Pics/Instagram, AFP

A source revealed, "The series is a contemporary take on infidelity. ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna', though controversial at the time, aged well, with generations resonating with the four leads' conflict. The team at Dharmatic was keen to revisit the idea, and from there, the story for ‘Nazdeekiyan' was fleshed out."

A still from ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'. Pic/Youtube

Director Ruchir Arun's 20-episode series, however, is not a direct adaptation of the Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji-starrer that told the story of two people finding love outside marriage. Another insider shared, "The DNA is similar, but the situations and setting of the four leads here are different."