Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Glossy emotional drama, bringing together talent across the acting generations of Indian cinema.

With a cast that reads like a Who's Who of Indian cinema, Karan Johar's film focuses on the tensions within a divided family, namely the rift between strict disciplinarian father Yashovardhan (played by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan) and his estranged son, Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan).

With Bollywood heart-throb Hrithik Roshan in the role of brother Rohan and Kareena Kapoor as sister Pooja, the A-list cast is completed by Jaya Bachchan. Following the fortunes of wealthy non-resident Indians in the UK, the film takes in beautiful locations from the British Museum to Blenheim Palace and serves as a paean to the motherland, India.

K3G (as it is more commonly known) is a glossy emotional drama, bringing together talent across the acting generations and includes the show-stopping number 'Shava Shava.'

Saw it Own it. And not just because I'm a woman either. The movie is rather lengthy but well worth sending the message it sends, which is: Family is our most precious asset we can own in this world. No matter what Family is Family and you love them regardless of their choices, mistakes and what nots. This is the type of movie that should be shown to all, to wake up our society and make them realize that life and family are too precious to take for granted. I wish more people knew about this movie, it has a universal language and appeal. And while others may think its too long of a movie to watch, I say get an attention span. I wish American movies were more like this one. The musical numbers while at first seem a bit weird, are rather entertaining and joyful to watch. Excellent movie!!

This film shines from start to finish, and runs the gamut of emotions. The cinematography, sets, and costumes are brilliant. The sparkling performances of six of India's leading actors alone makes the movie worth seeing, even if some might not feel comfortable with the deep sentimentality displayed by the leading men (women are fine with this; American men sometimes find it unnerving). Hrithik Roshan is pure eye candy for women of all ages, somehow oozing sweetness and innocent sexuality at the same time. The catchy song and dance number he performs with the lovely Kareena Kapoor at their 'prom,' "You Are My Soniya," has gotten regular replays in this household for weeks (even by my 79-year old mother, who will say, "I need a Soniya fix" - it really cheers her up!). The other musical numbers are very enjoyable, too, and never seem out of place or at odds with the flow of the film. Shahrukh Khan is adorable, as always, as the favorite son, and can hold his own in the dance numbers, too. Kajol gets to show her comic side, and was great at it! And knowing that the 'parents,' Amitabh and Jaya are a married couple in 'real life' just makes their interactions in the film that much better. Don't miss this wonderful movie! If you see just one Hindi movie, make it this one! (I am adding this question, for anyone who knows the answer: I wanted to find out what actor played Rohan at about age 12; the cast list shows three names for "Fattie" but no further details for any of these actors. If you happen to know the answer, please email me at punzelle@cox.net. Thank you!)

Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is one of the most ravishing, grandiose and melodramatic Hindi films ever made. It is incredibly unrestrained and stormy in its emotional quotient, and yet so watchable, enjoyable and at times even pleasurable, that you can't but applaud to this spectacular show. It is one of the few films where overacting seems superb acting and overly melodramatic proceedings, despite being very cheesy and occasionally clichéd, become quite bearable. It combines realism and surrealism, comedy and heavy melodrama in a very unique style, which makes for an altogether colourful picture which is fun to watch.

The film is about relationships in family, about loving your parents and your family, about pride, values and regret. The well defined and written characters are used to create and present all these qualities. Even the least emotional scenes are accompanied by orchestrated violins, heavy piano and strikingly sad pictures on-screen. The film shows both the bright and dark sides of happy families, and while it never breaks new ground, never looks totally authentic, it is always entertaining in spite of its flaws. It depicts both the Indian traditional world and the western modern world and tries to bring them together in many instances.

Some of the film's too emotional scenes could have been better edited and partly cut. The cinematography is good, the sets are extremely lavish, and the narrative is effectively laden with numerous songs and many memorable moments of comedy and drama. The comedy provides great relief and lightens the otherwise more-than-enough drama, and the music is extraordinary. My favourite song is "Suraj Hua Maddham", a greatly melodious number wonderfully performed by Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik and extremely beautifully shot across some breathtaking locations. Needless to say, the chemistry between the two leads, Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, is as electrifying as ever.

Where acting goes, Amitabh Bachchan is restrained and displays well the hidden pain and the visible pride. Jaya Bachchan is superb as the subservient yet strong woman. Towards the end there is one very powerful scene in which she really stands out (you'll know which one). Shahrukh Khan in a typical, cynical and likable character, is great as always. Kajol utterly steals the show and proves her prowess as a gifted comedienne. She is hilarious in her comic scenes and equally shines in moments of drama. Her strong, charismatic presence is perhaps the best thing about this film. Farida Jalal provides excellent support. Hrithik and Kareena are unimpressive and inconsistent. Hrithik is over-expressive and far more emotional than required, and Kareena, while attractive and quite funny at times, badly overacts.

All in all, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham has bits of everything: drama, melodrama, romance and comedy, all presented wholeheartedly in true Hindi-film style with lots of tears and lots of fun. It is an example of Bollywood entertainment at its grandest, and works as such. This is a movie to be seen with one's family. Go for it.

I respect Karan Johar. He is an honest director. There are a lot of young directors out there today that are taking the Hollywood approach to film making and the end result is a mish mash of a desi product in a foreign packaging. Karan Johar, on the other hand, takes a desi story, puts it in a desi package but only refines it more than most others do. What you get is a very good Bollywood movie that has elements of emotion, melodrama, comedy, family values, romance and music in equal doses. Yes, I admit that the story does leave a lot of questions unanswered, but that's OK considering the desired target market is one that is alright with that and sheds expectations of credibility before walking in to the cinema.

K3G is a beautiful example of what a good director can do. Agreed, the movie may not have been as great without the power star cast, but then, let us not forget that before those people are stars, they are very good actors. Well, except maybe Kareena and Hritik.

This is where the minus points are. Hritik did nothing but weep perpetually. Kareena played an overbearing slut. And to top it off, she and her friends all spoke American slang and also had that slight twang of an American accent. (PHAT: Pretty Hot And Tempting?? That's ghetto lingo!) And I really didn't like the national anthem thing. i felt it was a little pushed. I think KJ went a little overboard there in trying to make the NRI audience cry. The only time that trick has worked effectively was years ago in "naam" when Pankaj Udhas sang the "Chitthi Aayi Hai" song.

There are certain scenes that I found really well done in the movie. The last time Rahul meets Rohan before the latter goes off to boarding school, he has a talk with him about taking care of Mum, losing weight and joining he cricket team. They are sitting on a bench, side by side having this talk. Years later, in the second half of the movie, after Rahul realizes that his brother has been living with him all this while, the scene again cuts to them sitting on a bench, this time ten years later. It could've been shot anywhere, but the fact that the setting is so similar just makes it even more memorable.

The scene where Nandini (mom) meets Rahul after years at the shopping mall, she places her hand on his shoulder and he turns around. Wow.

And the finale of course. Amitabh breaking down with SRK.

One mustn't expect great international cinema here. this is what great Bollywood is all about.