"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.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... seems to embody every quintessential element to be found in a Bollywood production. Films from India seem to always include energetic song and dance rituals, emotional sentimentality, a strong showcase of the country's culture and customs, and explicit emphasis on the importance of family and the bond that only blood can bring.

The last Bollywood film I was fortunate enough to see was 3 Idiots, a film that was not only a very funny comedy but an immensely effective culture experience, shedding light on the high suicide rate in the country's teen population. We were told that because of the pressure parents put on their offspring, if success is not achieved by the sons or daughters through grades, income, or upward mobility, some look to suicide as an outlet. It's a depressing statistic, and rarely would you see an American comedy (or any comedy for that matter) incorporate that fact with stupid humor. Director Rajkumar Hirani boldly crafted the film into a two and a half hour emotional roller-coaster that was always entertaining and never boring. I loved it and it was a brilliant film to begin my journey through Bollywood cinema.

Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham... (which translates literally to "Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness" in English) is a solid film to further the journey with Bollywood cinema, concerning the Raichand family, an affluent family in India. The household of the family is controlled by Yashvardhan "Yash" Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan),is an immensely successful businessman, living with his wife Nandini (Jaya Bachchan) and their two sons Rahul and Rohan. Rahul, the older son, was adopted at birth and learns of this at the tender age of eight.

Rahul is eventually disowned by Yash for marrying a woman of a lower socioeconomic standing then the Raichand family, and for that reason, the Raichand family is now incomplete. However, there is hope. When Rohan returns home after a decade in boarding school, he is informed of his brother's adoption and is well aware of his father disowning his younger half. Rohan then decides to try and reunite his family, making the Raichand family the complete unity it hasn't been for years.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... seems to iterate traditionalist Indian values and ideas that a family cannot function unless a family is together at all times. There is an argument to be had in its portrayal of a family and its functionality when a link is missing. However, I am more prepared to make the argument that the film's two hundred and ten minute runtime is more than enough a complaint in itself. The film doesn't need to be this long, and lengthy song and dance routines cloud the film's overall message, which could be reiterated in two and a half hours. For a film locked in conservative family values, it makes a liberal use of its time.

However, the message rings strong - if debatable - and the performances by talented Indian actors such as Bachchan, Kajol (as Rahul's wife),along with Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, who play the adult versions of Rahul and Rohan, respectively. Their devotion to this material that runs at an opus-length is marvelous and never seems to diminish at any point in the film. Moreover, The song and dance rituals are always a blast. It will take a solid week for me to stop singing "Say Shava Shava," and the infectious cinematography and production values that seem to follow each number keep the film at an absurdly lively status. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... seems to have a limitless amount of energy, and given the enormity of its production, its scope, and its music, it shouldn't be completed in one sitting for a first time viewing.

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, and Kareena Kapoor. Directed by: Karan Johar.

It was definitely a great movie. Although it is not far from the usual subject of Indian films, the actors and dialogues made the film great. A cast can only suit each other so well. You can't believe you see them all side by side while watching. Kareena and Hrithik were very compatible with each other.