Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... English: Sometimes there's Happiness, Sometimes there's Sorrow , also known as K3G, is a 2001 Indian film written and directed by and produced by. The film stars , , , , and in leading roles, with appearing in an extended special appearance. The music was composed by , and , with lyrics penned by 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 than them. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Initially scheduled to release during the festivities of 2001, the film eventually released in India, and on 14 December 2001. In 2003, it became the first Indian film to be given a theatrical release in. Outside India, the film was the highest grossing Indian film ever, until its record was broken by Johar's next directorial, 2006. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Rahul is the elder son and was adopted by Yash and Nandini at birth. This is known to everyone in the Raichand household, except Rohan. The Raichand household is highly patriarchal and follows traditions. While grown up, Rahul comes across the vivacious Anjali Sharma , and they eventually fall in love, but their love is forbidden, because Anjali is from a low-income background. Yash and Nandini soon send Rohan Kavish Majmudar to a boarding school, which all the males in their family have attended. Yash announces his desire for Rahul to marry Naina , as he believes that parents have the right to choose their offspring's spouse, but Naina learns that Rahul is in love with Anjali, and encourages him to pursue her. When Yash comes to know of this, he is enraged, and Rahul promises not to marry Anjali, as he wants to please his father. En route to tell her of his promise, he discovers that her father has died, and decides to marry her despite his father's hostility. Yash learns of the marriage and disowns Rahul, whereupon Nandini and Rahul share a tearful goodbye. Nandini sends Sayeeda Rahul and Rohan's nanny to watch over him, so that he does not feel separated from a mother's love. Rahul visits Rohan in the Boarding School and begs of Rohan never to ask where he went or why he left, and asks that he take care of Nandini. Ten years later, Rohan returns home from boarding school and accidentally overhears a conversation from his grandmothers and concerning Rahul's adoption and the reason why Rahul left home, whereupon Rohan vows to reunite the family. He learns that Rahul, Anjali, and her younger sister Pooja with whom he shared a playful relationship during his childhood moved to , and tells his parents that he wishes to pursue further studies in London. Yash is skeptical at first, but once Rohan emphasizes that he is following the family traditions, his parents agree to let him go. In London, Rahul and Anjali now have their own son, Krish Jibraan Khan. Pooja , now a popular fashion-obsessed diva, is a student at King's College London, where Rohan enrolls. He and Pooja meet again and he tells her that he has come to London to bring his brother and sister-in-law back home. Pooja tells Rahul that Rohan is her friend's brother who currently has nowhere to stay. After some persuasion, Rahul agrees to let Rohan stay as Rohan uses the name 'Yash' to hide his real identity. Right before the family attends Krish's school function, Sayeeda and Anjali find out his real identity, though they promise to keep quiet. At Krish's school function, Krish leads his class in singing Indian national anthem , and later recites advice which Rohan had given him. Rahul, having given Rohan this advice ten years ago, now realizes that Rohan is his brother. Also at this point, Rohan and Pooja fall in love. Rohan begs Rahul to come home, but Rahul refuses. Pooja convinces Rohan to invite his parents to London; Rahul and Nandini are overjoyed to see one another, but Rahul still refuses to talk to his father. When Yash goes to a store, Anjali stumbles by and Rohan reveals that they have been living in London the whole time. Yash soon learns that his mother had died and that her last wish was for Yash, Rahul, and Rohan to light her funeral pyre together. Therefore, the entire family attends the funeral, and Nandini tells Yash that she thought he was wrong for disowning Rahul. Rohan and Pooja convince Rahul to talk to Yash, who apologizes and allows Rahul and Anjali into the house. Rohan and Pooja are married, and the family holds a belated celebration of Rahul and Anjali's wedding. 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. She shares a close bond with her sons but remains in the shadow of her husband. 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. There's something about him that makes me want to mother him. 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. He has the appeal of a boy next door. Besides, his intensity and ability to convey emotions without words is amazing. She is a fun-loving woman living in the 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. I nearly died when I saw the lines of dialogue on the first day of shooting. 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, 2000. 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 , Karan decided to cast her immediately for the role of the glamorous diva, Poo. Kapoor stated that in her opinion, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... 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. Following the success of Karan's previous film, 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 during the promotional activities led to her discovery. The film also featured as Haldiram a shopkeeper in Chandni Chowk , as Haldiram's wife, Jibraan Khan as Krish Raichand Rahul and Anjali's son , as Mr. Kapoor Yash's friend and Naina's father. Ramona Sunavala, Jeroo Writer and feature as Poo's friends Sonya, Tanya and Robbie, respectively. Additionally, Ashutosh Singh features as Ashfaque, Rukshaar's husband. Shilpa Mehta, and were cast as Ashfaque's mother, grandmother and nephew, respectively. Shah Rukh Khan's real-life son Aryan Khan also appeared in the film as the young Rahul Raichand. They hug and kiss them. But after that, they withdraw, become less demonstrative. My film is about relationships, about sons going up to their fathers and saying they love them. The idea initially revolved around two daughters-in-law. However, on the advice of filmmaker , who thought that the male characters would be too weak, Karan decided to tweak the story-line to make it the story of two brothers. The inspiration behind Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... It began with youth and went on as the people grew older. You could say that Kabhi Kabhie is the starting point for my new film, that I am inspired by it. But the film, I am sure, will be very different. It will look different, feel different. Before could begin, Karan and the contracted costume designers , and shopped in several locations of , London, , and New Delhi to get the right look for each of the cast members. He did not organise any rehearsals for them, except for a scene involving a climatic encounter between Amitabh Bachchan and Roshan. Additional production people hired included choreographer , production designer and cinematographer Kiran Deohans. Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan joined the schedule on 20 October. Due to the immense stress caused by the presence of these actors, Karan fainted on the sets. However, he continued directing the rest of the song while lying in bed. For the first half of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... In order to lend authenticity, the team took several pictures of the original area and also shopped in the various alleys of Chandni Chowk. Roy later won the Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction for her work in the film. The inside of a palatial mansion was developed from scratch in the same studio to double as the home of the Raichand family. In order to lend authenticity to the house of the multi-multimillionaires, several expensive paintings were hung from the walls. The second half of the film was shot in the city of London. Karan chose to set the film there due to his fondness for the city. But London is kind of close to my heart. I like to weave my films around London. The outdoor scenes of the Raichand family mansion were shot at. The crew faced enormous difficulties while filming an emotional scene between Jaya Bachchan and Khan at the Bluewater Complex, as a massive crowd had gathered there to watch them at work. The situation, eventually, got worse and the complex officials asked them to wrap up the shoot within two hours. British journalist, Fuad Omar, wrote extensively about the filming of the film in the UK, covering much of the shoot in a series of online articles and for regional press. Many of these were reprinted in an unedited format in his book, Bollywood: An Insider's Guide. Due to the lighting conditions, the crew could shoot only between 7 and 9 am in the morning. As a result, the song took several days to film. In addition, Kajol suffered from a minor injury while filming for the song, as she had experienced a bad fall. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... A total of 11 tracks are present in the album, which was released by on 16 October 2001. It had to be larger than life. Upon release, the soundtrack of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Additionally, it became the largest selling album of the year in India. Hate it or love it, you certainly won't ignore it. I fought with the producers to give Sonu a chance and today he's made the songs immortal. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Album: Track listing No. Title Lyrics Music Singer s Length 1. Due to the long duration of the film, theatres screened three shows daily, instead of four. Additionally, due to a massive rush in advance bookings, several theatres increased their ticket prices. Subsequently, a writ was issued against Dharma Productions in the by a petitioner based in. However, the court did not entertain the complainant's petition. Critical reception India Among the cast members, Kajol was appreciated for her performance. In India, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... While certain critics praised the visual richness and the performances of the cast, certain others were negative about the lengthy run time and criticised the script strength and inconsistencies. So, go indulge yourself. Cry your heart out and surprisingly, you'll feel life's finally alive and kicking in Mumbai's dream world. He praised the emotional sequences, as well as the choreography, production design, costumes, and cinematography. He added that Karan Johar was the real star, for creating many memorable sequences. It is simply the perfect Hindi film. The film at least partially redeems the hope surrounding it. Again, just like its name. Some joy, some disappointment. Overseas The reviews were mostly mixed outside of India too, with several critics praising the technical production details of the film, while being somewhat less enthusiastic about the story line. Shamaila Khan of gave the film 9 out of 10 stars and praised the performances of Khan, Kajol and Kapoor. Creekmur, of the University of Iowa, said that there were many ignored or illogical plot points and inconsistencies between the moral messages meant to be portrayed and the manner in which they came off on screen. Overall, he called the film a letdown. Box Office Upon release, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... The domestic opening week collections were 70% higher than the previous record and never before had opening records been eclipsed by such large margins. It thus debuted at the third position at the British box-office. However, according to a report by , the numbers were so high that the official reporting agency did not believe it, and asked for evidence that could not be furnished until after the reporting deadline had passed. If reported on time, the film would have opened at the number 10 spot in the North American box-office. However, according to figures from , the film debuted at the 32nd place at the American box office during the week of 4 January 2002. Additionally, in 2003, the film became the first from India to be given a theatrical release in Germany. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... It was the highest-grossing film of the year in the overseas market, surpassing , which was the top grosser of the year. Its record of being the highest grosser in the overseas was broken only by Johar's next directorial, 2006. When adjusted for inflation, the film is still among the highest grossers worldwide. Accolades Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... The film won several awards at the IIFA , and some at the and ceremonies, among others. Among the cast members, Kajol and Jaya Bachchan won several awards in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress category, respectively. At the 13th annual Valenciennes International Film Festival, the film won five major awards, including three Best Film awards and Best Actress for Kajol. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Author Rajani Mazumdar compared Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... She further stated that the buildup to the story was juxtaposed with the backdrop of two contrasting places — the Raichand home and the interiors of. Writing for the book Movie Blockbusters, Andrew Willis commented that the film was specifically written to appeal to the Indian diaspora. He explained that the film was aimed at invoking nostalgia among the large section of 's in , United Kingdom and North America. In the second half of the film, Rahul and Anjali move to London, where they enjoy an affluent lifestyle, among several non-Indian neighbours and friends. However, there is a perpetual dissatisfaction among them, especially Anjali, in living away from home. Additionally, she dresses up in a traditional and performs the duties of a loyal housemaker. The film, thus tries to form an emotional connection with the expatriate Indian audiences. Western ideology is equated with economic success, with emphasis on Western consumerism such as and. Creekmur believes that Rohan was the only character in the film who could navigate multiple cultural spaces with ease. He seems totally at ease both at his ancestral home in India and in London. It features materials and interviews concerning the producer, director, cinematographer, art director, cast and crew that Iyengar gathered over an 18-month period during the production of the film. The book was released a few days prior to the theatrical release of the film. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... The two disc DVD version of the film contains a 45-minute documentary entitled The Making of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham along with , a , and several television promos. Retrieved 2 February 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012. Archived from on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Archived from on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012. 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