Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..

 

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...(transl. Sometimes there is joy, sometimes there is sorrow...), also known as simply K3G, is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language melodrama film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, with special appearance by Rani Mukerji. The score was composed by Babloo Chakravarty. The film's songs were composed by Jatin–Lalit, Sandesh Shandilya and Aadesh Shrivastava, with lyrics by Sameer and Anil Pandey. The film tells the story of an Indian family, which faces troubles and misunderstandings over their adopted son's marriage to a girl belonging to a lower socio-economic group than them.

Development of the film began in 1998, soon after the release of Johar's debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). Principal photography began on 16 October 2000 in Mumbai and continued in London and Egypt. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... was promoted with the tag-line "It's All About Loving Your Parents". Initially scheduled for the Diwali festivities of 2001, the film was eventually released in India, the United Kingdom and North America on 14 December 2001.

Made on a budget of ₹400 million (US$5.6 million), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... emerged as a major critical and commercial success, both domestically and internationally, with a lifetime gross of ₹1.36 billion ($29 million) at the worldwide box office becoming the highest grossing Indian film ever worldwide at the time of its release. Outside India, the film was the highest-grossing Indian film ever, until its record was broken by Johar's next directorial Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... won several awards at popular award ceremonies the following year, including five Filmfare Awards.

 

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Plot

Yashvardhan "Yash" Raichand is a billionaire business tycoon living in Delhi with his wife Nandini and sons Rahul and Rohan. The Raichand household is highly patriarchal and strictly follows traditions. Rahul is the elder son and was adopted by Yash and Nandini at birth. This is known to everyone in the household except Rohan.

Adult Rahul returns home after completing his education abroad and falls in love with the vivacious Anjali Sharma from Chandani Chowk. Rahul learns shortly that Anjali too reciprocates his love. However, their love is forbidden because Anjali is from a low-income background. During this time, Rohan, still a child, is sent to boarding school. Yash announces his desire for Rahul to marry Naina, a high-society woman and Rahul's childhood friend, as Yash believes that parents have the right to choose their child's spouse. However, when he comes to know of Anjali, he is enraged due to her status, and Rahul promises not to marry her, as he does not want to hurt his father. However, Rahul discovers that Anjali's father has died, leaving behind Anjali and her kid sister Pooja. He spontaneously decides to marry her despite his father's hostility. When he brings Anjali home, Yash disowns Rahul, reminding him of his adopted status. Immensely hurt by this, Rahul shares a tearful goodbye with Nandini and leaves home. Rohan never finds out the truth of why Rahul left home.

Ten years later, an adult Rohan returns home from boarding school and finally learns from his grandmothers why Rahul left as well as the fact that he is actually adopted. Seeing the pain that this separation has brought upon his parents, Rohan vows to reunite the family. He learns that Rahul, Anjali, and Pooja have moved to London, and travels there, lying to his parents that it is to pursue further studies. In London, Rahul and Anjali live happily with their young son, Krish, and Pooja, now an ultra-modern diva studying at King's College London. Rohan and Pooja, who were childhood friends in the past after their elder siblings fell in love, reunite and she supports him in his quest to bring his brother and sister-in-law back home. Rohan poses as Pooja's friend who has come from India and Rahul agrees to let him live with them after Rohan introduces himself as "Yash" to hide his real identity: Rahul does not recognise his immensely-changed now-adult brother seeing him after so many years. Meanwhile, Rohan and Pooja grow closer and develop feelings for one another. At Krish's school function, he performs the Indian National Anthem much to Anjali's pride. When Pooja asks Krish how he got over his stage nerves, he recites some advice that Rohan had given him. Rahul, having given Rohan this exact advice ten years ago, hears Krish and finally realizes that "Yash" is actually his brother.

Rohan begs Rahul to come home but he refuses, reminding him of what their father had said. Rohan invites his parents to London and arranges a covert reunion where he brings them all to the same mall. Nandini and Rahul share an emotional reunion. However, when Yash sees Rahul, Anjali and Pooja with Rohan, he is enraged at Rohan and their confrontation does not go well. Nandini stands up to Yash for the first time, telling him that he was wrong for disowning Rahul and did not do right by breaking the family. After their grandmother's death, Rohan and Pooja convince Rahul and Anjali to come home. Nandini gives the couple a proper welcome and Yash tearfully asks for forgiveness, telling Rahul that he had always loved him. Rohan and Pooja, who have fallen in love, are married, and the family holds a belated celebration of Rahul and Anjali's wedding. Thus living happily together.

 

Cast

·         Amitabh Bachchan as Yashvardhan "Yash" Raichand, a Delhi based business tycoon. Fiercely dominating, he insists on controlling the life of his wife and sons. Amitabh Bachchan was Karan's first choice for the portrayal of Yash Raichand. Karan added, "As I wrote the film, I realised that Yashvardhan Raichand is the backbone of the film and I could only see one actor playing the role — Amitabh Bachchan." Bachchan, on his part, agreed to do the film without a script narration.^[4] Karan mentioned that he was initially scared to direct a star of the stature of Bachchan, but the latter "soon became an actor instead of a superstar".

·         Jaya Bachchan as Nandini Raichand, Yash's wife. She shares a close bond with her sons but remains in the shadow of her husband. According to Karan Johar, Jaya Bachchan was the "obvious" choice for the character of Nandini, and added that her "acting prowess and stature" were the other reasons for him preferring to cast her. The film also marked the return of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan together on screen after a gap of 18 years. Of her character, she said that Nandini was an extension of her own self. She elaborated, "My personal feelings towards Shah Rukh are similar to what I was supposed to portray in the film. There's something about him that makes me want to mother him." She added that she modelled her character on Karan's mother, Hiroo Johar, who "is a very emotional and sentimental person."

·         Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul Raichand, Yash and Nandini's adopted son. Rahul feels indebted to his parents and tries to fulfill all their wishes. However, he falls in love with Anjali and invites the wrath of Yash. When Karan offered the role to Shah Rukh, he immediately agreed to do it and accommodated his dates, despite having several other commitments. Khan described the character of Rahul by saying, "I love the vulnerability and the honesty in his eyes. He has the appeal of a boy next door. Besides, his intensity and ability to convey emotions without words is amazing."

o    Aryan Khan as Young Rahul Raichand

·         Kajol as Anjali Sharma Raichand, Rahul's love-interest and later, wife. She is a fun-loving woman living in the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi. Belonging to a lower socio-economic group than the Raichand family, she is not accepted by Yash as his daughter-in-law. Karan was initially hesitant to cast Kajol in the film, as he felt that she would refuse the offer due to her recent marriage. Kajol, however, was moved to tears during the script narration and agreed to do the film. In an interview to Filmfare, Kajol said, "One tiny fact that Karan forgot to mention during his narration was just how much Punjabi my character spoke in the film. I nearly died when I saw the lines of dialogue on the first day of shooting." However, she learnt the right pronunciation and diction with the help of Yash Johar and the crew members.

·         Hrithik Roshan as Rohan Raichand, Yash and Nandini's biological son. He wants his elder brother Rahul to return home. Karan signed Roshan to play the character of Rohan after watching a rough cut of the latter's debut film, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000).^[4] Roshan described his character as a "buffer" in a film that primarily focused on Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

o    Kavish Majumdar as Young Rohan Raichand (Laddoo)

·         Kareena Kapoor as Pooja "Poo" Sharma, Anjali's younger sister. She is a sophisticated girl, who helps Rohan in his plan to reunite Rahul with his parents. After spotting Kapoor at a party organised by Bombay Times, Karan decided to cast her immediately for the role of the glamorous diva, Poo. Kapoor stated that in her opinion, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... was primarily Kajol's film, and that her own character was a supporting one. In order to prepare for her role, she worked hard on her dancing skills, as she did not want audiences to know that she could not dance well.

o    Malvika Raaj as Young Pooja Sharma

·         Rani Mukerji as Naina Kapoor, a socialite girl who loves Rahul and wants to marry him, and Yashvardhan approves of her. Following the success of Karan's previous film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which starred Khan, Kajol and Mukerji, he wanted her presence in this film too. He thus cast Mukerji in a guest appearance.^[4] Initially, Karan wanted her presence in the film to be a surprise, but an accidental slip by Sony Music during the promotional activities led to her discovery.

·         Farida Jalal as Sayeeda / Daijan "DJ", Rahul and Rohan's nanny

·         Jibraan Khan as Krish Raichand, Rahul and Anjali's son

·         Simone Singh as Rukhsaar, Sayeeda's daughter and Anjali's best friend

·         Alok Nath as Om Sharma (Bauji), Anjali and Pooja's father

·         Jugal Hansraj as Rohan's friend (special appearance)

·         Achala Sachdev and Sushma Seth as Yash and Nandini's mothers respectively

·         Johnny Lever as Haldiram, a shopkeeper in Chandni Chowk.

·         Himani Shivpuri as Haldiram's wife

·         Amar Talwar as Mr. Kapoor, Yash's friend and Naina's father

·         Ramona Sunavala, Jeroo Writer, Vikas Sethi as Poo's friends Sonya, Tanya and Robbie, respectively

·         Ashutosh Singh as Ashfaque Miyaan, Rukhsaar's husband

·         Shilpa Mehta, Shashikala and Parzan Dastur as Ashfaque Miyaan's mother, grandmother and nephew, respectively.

·         Punit Malhotra as a cricket bowler

·         Jesse Lever as Haldiram's son

·         Abhishek Bachchan appeared in an uncredited cameo but the scene was not included in the final cut.