"Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..." is an amazing film simply because of its cast. It's hard to imagine, but they managed to cast Amitabh Bachchan with Shah Rukh Khan!! But that's not all.... Amitabh's real life wife, Jaya, plays his wife and that's not all...Hrithik Roshan (possibly the prettiest man in all of Bollywood) and Kareena Kapoor are in the film as well!! Talk about a high powered cast!!
The first half of the story is the best part and it's told in a lengthy flashback. Apparently the Raichand family is immensely wealthy....not just millionaires but probably billionaires by western standards. The oldest son, Rahul (Khan), is adopted but loved as much as if was their biological child. He has just returned from abroad for his father's 50th birthday. The youngest, Rohan (later played by the thin and beautiful Roshan) is mostly a chubby kid who is out to lunch a bit during the flashback. The Raichands all are immensely happy and it seems to be a loving and wonderful family. HOWEVER (and there always seems to be a however), Rahul falls for Anjali (Kajol)...and this is a problem because she is from a middle class family. Now considering that the caste system still exists to some extent in India (despite laws to the contrary), this won't do.....Rahul is expected to marry a girl from a rich, well connected family. But, inexplicably, he falls for the rather clumsy Anjali...much to the traditional father's dismay. And now Rahul has to make a choice....to marry his true love or allow his parents to pick his mate, like so many Indian families still do today. And, whatever choice he makes, he must live with it one way or the other...and it might mean destroying his happy family. Of course there's much more to the story...this is only the first half and it's best you just see it yourself to see what is next.
This film features romance, nice acting, some amazing dance scenes and locations shoots in Britain and Egypt. There certainly is a lot to like in this one and it illustrates a common theme in many of the Indian films I have seen...marrying for love versus marrying to please the parents. This is not to say the film is perfect...but the first half of the film comes darn close. In the second half, unfortunately, the character Pooja (Kapoor), Anjali's sister, is a larger part of the film and unlike the first portion, she is like a totally different person....and incredibly obnoxious and self-absorbed. She seems to be the female version of the overused playboy trope in Indian films and her style and character seem as if they come from an entirely different movie...and a bad one at that. Frankly, I just wish they'd not bothered with this character as couldn't help but alienate some viewers because this is an incredibly spoiled lady. It's a shame, as the second half of the movie is decent...but pairing up this brat with Rohan seemed like a mistake...his character deserved better. Removing her and this subplot certainly would have helped the film. Because of this, I had to knock off a point or two from my rating....though it still is a very good film despite this.
For the first half, I give the film a 9. For the second half a 6...not just because of Pooja but because it was needlessly drug out once Rohan meets Rahul in London....as Rohan not revealing who he is just seemed silly as well as an excuse to stretch the film to 3 1/2 hours when it could have been handled better in 2 1/2. An overall score of 7 seems reasonable. Still worth seeing...particularly to see some fine actors.
The first half of the story is the best part and it's told in a lengthy flashback. Apparently the Raichand family is immensely wealthy....not just millionaires but probably billionaires by western standards. The oldest son, Rahul (Khan), is adopted but loved as much as if was their biological child. He has just returned from abroad for his father's 50th birthday. The youngest, Rohan (later played by the thin and beautiful Roshan) is mostly a chubby kid who is out to lunch a bit during the flashback. The Raichands all are immensely happy and it seems to be a loving and wonderful family. HOWEVER (and there always seems to be a however), Rahul falls for Anjali (Kajol)...and this is a problem because she is from a middle class family. Now considering that the caste system still exists to some extent in India (despite laws to the contrary), this won't do.....Rahul is expected to marry a girl from a rich, well connected family. But, inexplicably, he falls for the rather clumsy Anjali...much to the traditional father's dismay. And now Rahul has to make a choice....to marry his true love or allow his parents to pick his mate, like so many Indian families still do today. And, whatever choice he makes, he must live with it one way or the other...and it might mean destroying his happy family. Of course there's much more to the story...this is only the first half and it's best you just see it yourself to see what is next.
This film features romance, nice acting, some amazing dance scenes and locations shoots in Britain and Egypt. There certainly is a lot to like in this one and it illustrates a common theme in many of the Indian films I have seen...marrying for love versus marrying to please the parents. This is not to say the film is perfect...but the first half of the film comes darn close. In the second half, unfortunately, the character Pooja (Kapoor), Anjali's sister, is a larger part of the film and unlike the first portion, she is like a totally different person....and incredibly obnoxious and self-absorbed. She seems to be the female version of the overused playboy trope in Indian films and her style and character seem as if they come from an entirely different movie...and a bad one at that. Frankly, I just wish they'd not bothered with this character as couldn't help but alienate some viewers because this is an incredibly spoiled lady. It's a shame, as the second half of the movie is decent...but pairing up this brat with Rohan seemed like a mistake...his character deserved better. Removing her and this subplot certainly would have helped the film. Because of this, I had to knock off a point or two from my rating....though it still is a very good film despite this.
For the first half, I give the film a 9. For the second half a 6...not just because of Pooja but because it was needlessly drug out once Rohan meets Rahul in London....as Rohan not revealing who he is just seemed silly as well as an excuse to stretch the film to 3 1/2 hours when it could have been handled better in 2 1/2. An overall score of 7 seems reasonable. Still worth seeing...particularly to see some fine actors.