"Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham" (Sometimes Joy Sometimes Sorrow) earned 40 crore Indian rupees in overseas distribution and satellite rights even before it was released. It is a big hit. Karan Johar’s magnum opus will give you a lot of joy and very few sorrows.

The joy is that the multistar movie boasts a cast that spells dream team. It is great to see so many talented performers on one screen. Amitabh Bachchan is paired with his wife, Jaya, after a gap of 20 years! The sorrow is seeing Jaya. She looks too bloated and unattractive. Her role too is dull and does not allow her to show off her talent.

Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Fareeda Jalal are amongst some of the other stars. The big sorrow was watching Rani Mukherjee in a cameo role looking pretty and dancing well in a crowd of good dancers! The joy is that the movie is good and entertaining. The sorrow is that it runs three hours and 28 minutes and has a story which runs on predictable lines.

An older, adopted son Rahul played by Shahrukh (and why is he called Rahul for the umpteenth time? Perhaps Karan Johar is superstitious. Shahrukh as Rahul has always been a box office hit). Anyway, Rahul marries Anjali (Kajol) against the wishes of a very traditional and very rich father, Yashvardan Raichand (Amitabh ), leaves home and drops out of sight for 10 years. The younger son, Rohan (Hrithik) grows up and decides to look for his brother, bring him home and reunite the joint family which had once lived very happily.

For a change, it was great to see a nice family movie that had no violence, bad language and nudity (if you excuse some of Kareena’s skimpy clothes). The interaction of individuals living in a joint family, the love, the little squabble between big and little brothers, the cute conversations between paternal and maternal grandmothers, the showering of love by daijaan (Fareeda Jalal) — nicknamed DJ — are some of the entertaining highlights of the movie.

The script of the movie is very realistic, and well-written. The screenplay is superb. What I loved most was its humor. And for a change the funny bits were not cheap and distasteful. The sorrow in the movie was comedian Johnny Lever but the joy was he made no contribution (as usual). His was a short and forgettable role. There is no hamming. Even the emotional scenes are short and sweet. No long, flowery dialogues. There are also no fights and villains!

Amitabh Bachchan’s role in the movie looked quite a bit like the one he played in the flop movie, "Ek Rishta." But here it was done with greater dignity and softness. The only thing I liked about Jaya Bachchan’s character, Nandini, was that when she is shown helping Amitabh put on his tie. He is very tall and she quite the opposite... So she stands on a little stool!

Kajol as Anjali plays Rahul’s love interest. She is shown to be a little nitwit Punjabi girl who lives in the very populous area of Chandni Chowk in Delhi where her father owns a sweet shop. Kajol played her part well, even though she overacted quite a bit. But her antics and funny dialogues keep the viewer entertained. However, she acted just like Juhi Chawla has done in most of her comedy roles. I had a hard time accepting Kajol in a role which felt like as if it belonged to Juhi Chawla! I liked Kajol much better in the second half of the movie when she is shown living in London with her husband Shahrukh Khan and their son. I loved the way she talks in English with her neighbor, slipping in very slyly, a few uncomplimentary words in Hindi. Also the way she goes on singing Indian patriotic songs every morning for her son, so he stays Indian. I also loved the little tiffs that are shown between her and Shahrukh Khan.

Kareena Kapoor is Kajol’s sister, Pooja and Hrithik’s love interest. She also lives with her sister in London. Kareena’s role is non-serious, funny crowd-pulling type. She is shown as the very fashionable, skimpily-clad high school girl who belongs to the popular crowd (and is called "Poo"). She looks like someone you may have seen in Buffy the vampire slayer. She talks with a phony accent, sings, "It’s Raining Men" her favorite word is "Whatever" and she believes the boy taking her to prom should have three qualities — "Good looks, good looks and good looks." I enjoyed seeing her little battles with her "jeej" (Shahrukh), who is forever telling her to wear more clothes!

Hrithik Roshan has acted quite well, considering this was just his third film. And of course Shahrukh Khan is marvelous. His character has many shades. Some show him to be naughty, carefree, some somber, sad, angry, and yet he delivers all his characters with the force, softness or energy that each one deserves. He makes all his characters alive and such a joy to watch.

Karan Johar as a director has done a good job. When Rahul’s London-born son, sings the Indian national anthem he does it with a British accent. The child actors all acted well, especially the one who portrays Hrithik as a child.

The music by Jatin Lalit and newcomer Sandish Shandliya (of Piya Basanti fame) is average. Apart from a few songs, the music is ordinary. Farah Khan’s choreography was not that great but she made Amitabh dance with grace for a change.