With a runtime of a whopping 3 hours and 30 minutes, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (or K3G) might be too long for the average movie watcher. After all, it would require a whole afternoon just to watch. However, there’s something compelling about the way this dual romance presents its conflict. The first half could already work as a film of its own, as a sweeping romance between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, complete with parental disapproval, the revoking of one’s inheritance, and multiple thunderstrikes to underscore the drama of a confrontation. But this first half sets up a lighter, comedic follow-up in London, with Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor stepping up to Parent Trap the Raichand family into harmony. As Laddu orchestrates their reunion, K3G takes familiar Bollywood tropes to cathartically mirror the pain of families separated by migration.
"Stunningly scored and costumed, and gradually bringing in all the principals as it crosscuts between the Western-influenced party and Anjali's more traditional, middle-class milieu."
— Derek Elley
Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.
