Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is regarded as one of the biggest films of the 21st century. Helmed by Karan Johar, over the years the family drama managed to attain a cult status and had even swept the box office during the time of its release. While the film did perform exceptionally well, Karan Johar had once revealed that he felt demoralised when his contemporary Ashutosh Gowariker had called him up and deemed his film bad. Interestingly, that was the year when his film Lagaan was released as well.
In one of his earlier interviews with Komal Nahata, Karan Johar had recalled the waves of anticipation and nervousness that had rendered him anxious. He had shared, “It was the year of Lagaan… It was also the year of Dil Chahta Hai, the year of Chandni Bar, of Gadar… It was a defining year in Hindi cinema. And I was vulnerable at that time, it was a Rs 51 crore film, which is equivalent to Rs 150 crore now. It was humungous, the expectations, the fear, the anxiety, the insecurity…”
Talking about the day after the previews, Karan was told by Ashutosh that he was disappointed with Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham although he had loved his debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil director had recounted, “I picked up the phone with a great amount of excitement. He said, ‘Karan, where are you? I just saw your film! I didn’t like it at all’. I thought the earth below me would open up and I would jump right in. I said, ‘Oh, you didn’t like it?’ He said, ‘Not at all!’ I asked, ‘Nothing worked for you?’ He said, ‘No, I was so disappointed. I loved your first film, and this one had no story…’ I asked about the screenplay, and he said, ‘No, that didn’t work for me’. I thought I was going to collapse.”
However, once the film had gained traction, the Swades director had rung him up again to say that he was wrong. The film starred Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, with Rani Mukherji in an extended guest appearance. It told the story of an Indian family, which faces troubles and misunderstandings over their adopted son’s marriage to a girl belonging to a lower socio-economic group than them.
