Movie-Review ... "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham"

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (English: Sometimes happiness, sometimes sadness), also known as K3G, is a 2001 melodramatic film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by his father, Yash Johar, under the banner of Dharma Productions. Written specifically to evoke nostalgia among the expatriate Indian audiences, the film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor in leading roles, with Rani Mukerji appearing in an extended cameo appearance. The music was composed by Jatin Lalit, Sandesh Shandilya and Aadesh Shrivastava, with lyrics penned by Sameer and Anil Pandey. The background score was composed by Babloo Chakravarty. 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 Karan's debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). Principal photography began on 16 October 2000 in Mumbai and continued in London and Egypt. Initially scheduled to release during the Diwali festivities of 2001, the film eventually released in India, United Kingdom and North America on 14 December 2001. In 2003, it became the first Indian film to be given a theatrical release in Germany. Upon release, the film met with mixed reviews from film critics and received polarizing reactions to Karan Johar's "larger-than-life" directorial style. Certain academicians criticized the portrayal of a "morally corrupt" British society against an "idealist" Indian society.

Made on a budget of 40 crore (US$7.24 million), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... emerged as a major commercial success, both domestically and internationally, with a lifetime gross of 117.29 crore (US$21.23 million). Outside India, the film was the highest grossing Indian film ever, until its record was broken by Karan'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.

Plot

Yashvardhan "Yash" Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) is a rich businessman, living in New Delhi with his wife Nandini (Jaya Bachchan) and his two sons, Rahul and Rohan. The elder son, Rahul is adopted whilst Rohan is their biological son. As a result, Rahul feels indebted to his parents when he finds out (at the age of eight) about his adoption. As an adult, Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) falls in love with Anjali Sharma (Kajol), a girl belonging to a lower social standing than him, against the wishes of Yash, who wants him to marry Naina Kapoor (Rani Mukerji). Rahul, however, rebels and marries Anjali, following which Yash disowns Rahul as his son. Disheartened, Rahul leaves for London with his wife. Nandini sends Sayeeda (Farida Jalal), Rahul and Rohan's nanny, after Rahul to take care of him. Meanwhile, Rohan is sent to a boarding school, as per family tradition.

Ten years later, a grown-up Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) finds out the truth about Rahul's disappearance. He asks his parents to let him go to London to attend graduate school; but he does so in order to conspire with Anjali's sister, Pooja "Poo" Sharma (Kareena Kapoor) to bring his brother back home. Poo informs Rahul that Rohan is her friend's cousin who has shifted from India to London to pursue his studies and needs a place to stay. Rahul reluctantly agrees to let him live with them. When Rahul eventually finds out about Rohan's identity, Rohan begs of him to return home. Rahul refuses, as he believes that Yash does not love him. Poo, however, believes that Rahul will go back home, so she encourages Rohan to invite his parents over to London and arrange for them to meet Rahul. Once in London, Nandini and Rahul share a happy reunion. But Rahul refuses to talk to his father. Meanwhile, Yash finds out about the conspiracy and is furious with Rohan. He and Nandini, however, return to India due to the sudden death of his mother (Achala Sachdev).

Rahul, who also joins Yash and Rohan during the funeral service, agrees to return home for one visit to meet his mother, on the insistence of Rohan and Poo. Once there, Yash expresses his guilt for disowning his elder son, and adds that Rahul was foolish enough for believing that his father did not love him. The film ends with an elaborate wedding ceremony of Rohan and Poo, in which the entire family participates.

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Yashvardhan "Yash" Raichand, a New Delhi-based businessman. 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. 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 modeled her character on Karan's mother, Hiroo Johar, who "is a very emotional and sentimental person."
• Shahrukh Khan as Rahul Raichand, Yash and Nandini's adopted son. He 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 Khan, 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."
• Kajol as Anjali Sharma Raichand, Rahul's love-interest and later, wife. She is a fun-loving Punjabi 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). Roshan described his character as a "buffer" in a film that primarily focused on Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan.
• 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 organized 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 didn't want audiences to know that she couldn't dance well.
• 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. 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. On the insistence of Nandini, she follows Rahul and Anjali to London.
• Simone Singh as Rukhsaar, Anjali's best friend
• Alok Nath as Anjali and Pooja's father
• Kavish Majmudar as the younger Rohan Raichand
• Malvika Raaj as the younger Pooja Sharma
• Aryan Khan (Shahrukh Khan's real-life son) as the younger Rahul (special appearance)
• Jugal Hansraj as Rohan's friend (special appearance)

Achala Sachdev and Sushma Seth were cast as Yash and Nandini's mothers, respectively. The film also featured Johnny Lever as Haldiram (a shopkeeper in Chandni Chowk), Himani Shivpuri as Haldiram's wife, Jibraan Khan as Krish Raichand (Rahul and Anjali's son), Amar Talwar as Mr. Kapoor (Yash's friend and Naina's father). Ramona Sunavala, Jeroo Writer and Vikas Sethi feature as Poo's friends Sonya, Tanya and Robbie, respectively. Additionally, Ashutosh Singh features as Ashfaque, Rukshaar's husband. Shilpa Mehta, Shashikala and Parzan Dastur were cast as Ashfaque's mother, grandmother and nephew, respectively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabhi_Khushi_Kabhie_Gham...