Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which releases in the UAE this Thursday, dominated headlines for employing Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. The film’s release came on the heels of rising tensions and armed clashes between India and Pakistan and a cultural boycott was demanded by the right-wing group in Maharashtra, MNS.

The industry and fans were on tenterhooks: Would the film — a major release scheduled for the Indian festival of Diwali — enjoy an uninterrupted release or face a ban?

Not to worry. Producer Karan Johar tendered an unconditional apology and swore not to engage with Pakistani talent in his films in the future. The matter has been settled. Now, it’s time to brush up on what the film, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Fawad Khan, is all about.

So here are ten things you need to know about ADHM, rated PG13 in the UAE. While this list is immaterial to fans of Johar’s brand of cinema — rich, angst-ridden, designer wear-dripping, beautiful people — others may want to check out these lesser-known facts.

There’s a Devdas reunion

While Pakistani actor Fawad Khan’s appearance in an Indian film triggered a nation-wide debate about employing actors from across the border in Hindi films, the romantic drama about unrequited love also boasts a string of cameos, from stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt and Lisa Haydon. While Bhatt is Johar’s discovery, the director brought Khan on board because he missed his best friend.

“Shah Rukh and I have an amazing working rapport. I haven’t directed a film with him in the last seven years, but he did a scene for me recently in a film that is going to release in Diwali. I realised nothing had changed. He knew exactly what I was expecting of him and I knew exactly what he was going to do,” Johar told reporters gathered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Khan is reportedly playing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s husband in the film, a screen reunion after 14 years.

It’s not a remake

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is not a remake of 1977 Rishi Kapoor film Doosra Aadmi. There was a rumour that the roles of Rishi Kapoor, Rakhee and Neetu Singh will be reportedly played by Kapoor, Rai Bachchan and Sharma. But Johar shot down those comparisons, saying: “it’s not a film about infidelity at all. The ‘morality’ is not questionable, so to say. Just because a film has four characters, they wonder if it’ll be like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna as well. Not at all.” Kapoor also agreed and said that he hasn’t even seen his father’s romance.

Ok, so what is it about?

Are you wondering what ADHM is all about? According to Johar, it’s not a conventional love story or love triangle. “It’s a film that dwells deeply on relationships, heartbreaks and how love completes you, defines you and yet leaves you wanting for more. I have never had, in my entire career, a film that has come to me so fast, so organically and so from within,” said Johar.

It’s Kapoor’s second chance

AHDM is Kapoor’s second Diwali release. His first was Sawaariya in 2007, which bombed at the box office.

Karan finally gets Aish

Rai Bachchan said in an interview that she had turned down film offers from Johar because she could not allot the required dates at that time. Her first refusal came when Johar offered his debut blockbuster, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, and the next was Dostana featuring her husband Abhishek Bachchan. It took them 17 years to agree on a film — AHDM.

Big budget, big locations

ADHM, whose budget is reportedly Rs80crore, was filmed in London and Vienna. Johar took a 73-member crew from India to film outside India. They also filmed in Innsbruck in Austria.

The stars already love it

Kareena Kapoor Khan endorsed ADHM after Johar invited her to a special screening in Mumbai, calling it his best work till date.

“I loved Ae Dil Hai Mushkil! Ranbir, Anushka, and Aishwarya were fab...I think it’s Karan’s best! The audience will love it,” Kapoor Khan told reporters.

It’s personal for Karan

“I am extremely romantic in my personal space and I carry the baggage of love strongly in my cinema. If you fall in love twice then it’s enough and the pain that it (love) gives you and holds your breath is what Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is about. I feel up to this point I have never written and directed a film that was about me. It’s my first internal film. There are some situations and circumstances that are fictional but I feel the pain. The pain of love is not like you take a medicine and it goes away. When you know it, you feel it,” said Johar on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Jio Mami 18th Mumbai Film Festival.

His co-stars aren’t quite as romantic. Sharma claims that she’s practical when it comes to the matters of the heart.

“It’s not like I will fall in love with someone standing far away. If I know the guy is not interested I don’t fall in love. This is my safety. You can’t go on telling: I am in love,” said Sharma at the same event.

Karan didn’t think much of Anushka

Karan Johar had famously written off Anushka Sharma when he first saw her at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai. At that time, Sharma was preparing for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, directed by Aditya Chopra. The Yash Raj head was Johar’s close friend and he had questioned Chopra’s casting choice. But Johar became her fan when he saw her act in her third romantic comedy, Band Baaja Baarat, recounting the episode on his chat show, Koffee With Karan.

“I just think it reassures me that if you keep working hard you can turn opinion of people around. It is big of him to accept something on national TV and he said ‘I take my words back’... that’s so sweet of him ... I always wanted to be part of Karan’s film so I don’t care what happened before. Someone who didn’t want me to be in any films and taking me in his own film is a big achievement,” said Sharma to reporters in Mumbai.

Karan, the troublemaker?

It’s not the first time that producer and director Johar has run into trouble with the Hindu Nationalist Party and right-wing group Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). In Wake Up Sid, produced by Johar, the party took offence to the film calling the city of Mumbai by its old name, Bombay. They threatened to ban the film unless Johar reshot. Johar settled the matter by apologising to Raj Thackeray, the nephew of late Bal Thackeray.

In his next production, Kurbaan, Shiv Sena objected to Kareena Kapoor Khan’s bare back on posters, calling them obscene. But the controversy cooled down, died a natural death and the film’s release was uninterrupted. The controversy surrounding My Name Is Khan didn’t end as easily. Trouble began when its lead star, Shah Rukh Khan, made a remark favouring Pakistani cricketers to play in the Indian Premier League. The political party, which was then headed by Bal Thackeray, called for the film to be banned. Johar made a few calls to the party leader and settled the matter amicably.