“It’s all about loving one’s family,” the movie’s tagline said. And at the end of the day, that’s exactly what one got to see in one of the most successful releases from the house of the Dharma Productions, a film that actually defined the early 2000s in a way that few other movies have, even to this day.
Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham was a one-of-a-kind movie in that it was for the first time ever that the Bollywood cinemascope got to see three of the biggest Bollywood stars share a common screen- in Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Hrithik Roshan.
Moreover, that besides a mega star-cast, the timeless legend in Mr. Bachchan played the father to two of the finest celebrities of the Bollywood industry- not that a lot has changed today- was one of the most sensational Hindi films of its time. Song and drama, a great rupture between close family bonds, cracks between an ‘adopted’ son and a dominant father, heartbreaks and in the end, a reunion in the most unlikeliest of fashions, all of which together made KRG (Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham) a movie like no other.
That it was incredible enterprising nature of Karan Johar, who else, that got such an eclectic and talented pantheon of actors together made K3G a movie one of a kind. Add to that the presence of Jaya Bachchan Ji (Bhaduri earlier) and Kajol and Kareena Kapoor, there was something dazzling as well as heartfelt about a movie that’s seen even today.
And what’s really emphatic in the movie’s triumph is the fact that even after two decades since it first hit our movie screens, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is remembered and fondly so.
Though, the key question is- how did Karan Johar manage to get some of the finest actors, all of whom are still very much around, get the biggies under a common screen?
How was it that something that was as big in its star-offering as big in ringing the Bollywood cash registers even happen? As with every movie, it so happens, we remember the popular songs and the storyline or some of the dialogues; not an often lot is spared to think about how did such a huge project even happen?
Recently, the man behind some of the most memorable romantic dramas and mega blockbusters, mostly featuring his close friend, Shah Rukh Khan, opened up about the story.
Karan Johar shared the following:
“I first went to Amit ji’s house, respect wise, Jaya aunty was there as well. She didn’t know why I was visiting Amit uncle. I narrated the script, he said, ‘Of course, I’m doing this.’ I then walked out of the house, outside the gate, I called Jaya aunty, informing her that I wanted to meet her. She said, ‘Arre but you were just here.’ I said, ‘I came to meet Amit ji. But now, I want to officially meet you.’ I went back in and offered the film!”
Furthermore, Karan Johar also shared whom did he contact next and how did he convince the next big star?
The following is what one needs to know:
“As soon as I said (about the film), he said, ‘You don’t even have to narrate it to me, I’m doing the film.’ We have that brother-like bond!”
That being said, the most interesting part would soon follow soon as Karan Johar would get to meet none other than Kajol, wondering whether she’d be interested in doing the film, wherein he’d share:
“Two minutes after I narrated the script and her character, she broke down. She said, ‘I cannot make anybody else do this film and I will delay my decisions of life but I will do this film!”