K3G Film Review

Laine Bulakites

HNDI 2440

March 29^th, 2010

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… Review

Karan Johar’s family film Kabhi Khishi Kabhie Gham… (K3G) was by far the most entertaining Bollywood film I have seen to date. It was cheesy, fun, had great music, yet it was also very serious at times. The cast was a great one – Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor. The film was a very touching family film (even the tagline is “It’s all about loving your parents”) but it also connected very strongly with non-resident Indians.

K3G is primarily about the Raichand family, consisting of Yash, Nandani, Rahul, and Rohan. When Rohan comes back from school as an adult, he is shocked to learn that his family is separated and that Rahul was adopted. The story reverses 10 years to a time when the family was together and happy.

Rahul fell in love with poor Muslim girl Anjali, but Yash wants Rahul to marry his friend’s daughter. Rahul marries Anjali against his father’s wishes. When his father learns of the news, he disowns his adopted son, exclaiming that his own blood would have never done such a thing. Rahul and Anjali reluctantly leave and Nadani sends the nanny with them.

The movie now turns back to the present, and Rohan is very upset at this news. He vows to find his brother and his sister-in-law and bring them back home to be part of the family again. Rohan travels to London, where Rahul and Anjali now reside, along with their 9-year-old son and Anjali’s sister Pooja. Rohan reunites with Pooja and tells her his plan. She agrees to help him, and brings him into their home as a stranger.

Rohan makes Rahul and Anjali very homesick for India and their old family. He reminds them of what life was like back then. When Yash’s mother dies, the three men reunite at her funeral. Yash and Rahul both have to think long and hard about if they want to reunite or not – eventually, Yash accepts Rahul back into the family. The film has a very happy ending; the family is reunited and Rohan and Pooja wed.

This song connected very strongly with NRI’s (non-resident Indians) because the film depicted Rahul and Anjali moving to London, yet still feeling a connection to their motherland, India. Their new family is part of the diaspora, a group of people living in a land that is not their homeland. They are 1^st and 2^nd generation Indians (like their son) and still feel a strong sensibility and connection to their homeland.

Anjali shows this more than anyone else in the family. She wears traditional Indian clothes, sings Hindu songs every morning, and is constantly speaking about how much she loves India (“India is the greatest country”) and wishes she could go back. Rohan also helps the family connect to India: he transforms Pooja from a scandalous Westerner into a beautiful traditional Indian, he shares an age-old tradition with Anjali, and he reminds his brother of the traditional Indian values. Rohan even goes so far as to surprise Anjali by having her son to sing a nationalistic song during a school performance.

This movie is also a very family-friendly film, which was a fairly new genre of Hindi film at the time. It was meant so that any member of the family could watch this together – from the grandmother to the grandchild -- and have it be appropriate. All ages can also relate to this movie. It exemplifies strong family values. The audience is constantly shown images of tradition and love. The smaller new family (Rahul, Anjali, Pooja…) also feels incomplete without the rest of their family living with them. This Indian concept is very different from the American concept of family and marriage. Each member of the family feels especially connected to the others – Nandani can even sense when her sons arrive (and when they are reunited.)

K3G however, also challenges some traditional Indian concepts. For example, Yash is very traditional and feels that it is his decision as to whom Rahul marries. He feels that what he says always goes since he is the head of the house. He is constantly silencing Nadani throughout the film, and it isn’t until the end of the film when Nandani finally speaks up, stands her ground, and shares her strong feelings of resentment with Yash. The idea of a woman holding equal ground in a family is definitely a more traditional concept, one that is not belittled or disregarded in the movie.

As I stated before, this film was definitely the most entertaining I have seen so far. It was funny, sad, and heartwarming. The movie had its share of cheesy lines, and the romance between Yash and Pooja provided much comic relief after the family was torn apart. The soundtrack was amazing, and as was the imagery that went along with it. (The best example: "Suraj Hua Madham") It is no surprise that the movie was a huge success in India and in countries with large NRI populations.