London: Prince William has promised to watch Karan Johar’s 2001 Bollywood family drama ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ after praising the filmmaker as an “icon” during their recent interaction in London.
The exchange took place at an event associated with the Earthshot Prize, an environmental initiative founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation.
Karan has been helping the initiative strengthen its presence in India, a contribution the Prince acknowledged while discussing their meeting.
Speaking to BBC Asian Network, Prince William described the filmmaker as “an icon” and praised his efforts to help establish the initiative in India.
“Really cool. I mean, he’s again an icon, and he’s been so helpful in kind of being able to help the Earthshot Prize land, well in India. We want to make it a truly Indian Earthshot Prize. It’s the biggest one we’ve done,” he was quoted as saying.
The conversation then turned to Bollywood when a journalist asked whether the Prince had watched any of Karan’s films.
William admitted that he had yet to see the filmmaker’s work but suggested that could change in the future.
“No, he’s being very modest. But I’m sure as time goes on, he’ll introduce some more films to me,” he replied.
The journalist then recommended Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Karan’s 2001 family drama starring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Encouraging William to watch the film, the journalist said, “Yeah, we all say K3G anyway. If you meet Karan again, ‘Tell him, I’m going to watch your film K3G, he’ll love you.’”
William agreed to pass on the message, saying, “Okay got it, I’ll mention that too when I see him.”
The two-day Earthshot Prize Summit will bring together representatives from business, environmental innovation, funding and community organisations for discussions and collaboration.
It aims to connect promising environmental initiatives with the resources and partnerships needed to expand their impact.
The summit will precede the sixth Earthshot Prize Awards Night, scheduled for November 17, 2026.
Fifteen finalists will be recognised, with five winners each set to receive £1 million to develop and scale their solutions.
The initiative seeks to accelerate innovative ideas addressing some of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges.
