Bollywood in Review: Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (K3G): Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow)

My love of India and its cinema started with this film. K3G, as it is called in the world of celluloid, opened up a whole new world for me. I was whisked away to another country, cinematically of course, with the colors, the dancing, the music and the culture. Words cannot fully describe the emotional roller coaster, which the story takes you on, but until you experience it for yourself, here is my review.

The tagline of the story is: "It's all about your parents." The story basically revolves around two families, and the love and respect, which the children have for their parents sets the tone for the decisions they make in their lives. However, when one son {Rahul} and one daughter (Anjali} from each family meet and fall in love, their whole world and that of their families comes crashing down around them.

The Raichand family, headed by Yashovardhan "Yash" is very influential in the community. As culture usually dictates, the children of this type of family, more often than not, marry someone of the same status. When you add to the equation that Yash is still of the belief that the father of the family chooses who his sons will marry, frustration for the sons is sure to occur, especially when one of them has already fallen in love with someone else.

The dilemma for Rahul is whether to marry Naina, the girl of his father's choosing and make everyone except himself happy or go against all the principles his father has taught him and marry Anjali, the girl from a village town that he loves.

Originally, when his father finds out he wants to marry Anjali, he is outraged. He can't imagine how anyone who is "ordinary" in his eyes could understand their traditions, values and ethics. Seeing her only as a hurdle, he asks Rahul, "How did you even dare to think that she could be part of our family … my family?"

To which Rahul responds, "I didn't think at all. I just loved." After being lambasted by Yash, Rahul realizes how much he has hurt him, asks for forgiveness and vows to do whatever his father wants. When he goes to tell Anjali, the situation at hand changes his mind. With his father's words thundering in his head, he goes against all reason and makes his decision to marry Anjali anyway.

Yash's answer to this union is his banishment of Rahul not only from the house but also from the family. With only his mother's blessings, Rahul and Anjali leave. Before leaving, Rahul goes to talk to his brother Rohan, who is now in boarding school and makes him promise never to ask why he left or where he went. Then he and Anjali, along with her sister Pooja and their aunt move away.

Ten years later, in the second half of the film, Rohan finds out the whys and wherefores of his brother and sister-in-law's disappearance and sets out in search of them, hoping to bring them home again. In doing so, the story switches from India to London.

Now with a school age son and Pooja in college, it looks like the family has carved out a happy life in their new "world", but a closer look tells a different story. Not having seen Rohan in all these years growing up, the family doesn't recognize him. He reveals himself only to Pooja and they make a plan to unite the family. Rohan poses as a brother of one of Pooja's college girlfriends, fresh from India who needs a place to stay. Rahul is talked into allowing him to stay with them and the masquerade begins.

Eventually, through a series of events Rohan's identity is revealed to each of the family members, one by one, with Rahul being the last to find out. Refusing to return home until his father calls for him, Rahul tells Rohan to go back without him. Not being able to take no for an answer, Rohan devises a plan, which will get Rahul and Yash to meet in London. The meeting doesn't go well, but an unforeseen circumstance has the entire family flying back to India. Once there, Rahul is talked into going back home one last time before returning to London.

The emotional meeting between father and son is overwhelming and forgiveness is exchanged between them. The entire family is reunited, with all members being accepted and blessed. The wedding of Rohan and Pooja solidify the bonds that tie the family together and everything turns out for the best in the end. After all, "it's all about loving your parents."