Koyla

Director: Rakesh Roshan (father of Hrithik Roshan)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Cast :
Shahrukh Khan,
Madhuri Dixit,
Amrish Puri,
Ranjeet
Deepshika
Ashok Saraf
Jack Gaud
Himani Shivpuri,
Kunika.

Plot:Mute servant Shankar struggles day and night to satisfy his wealthy businessman Raja Saab. Raja Saab wants to marry a young girl name Gauri. Gauri however wants to see a picture of her future husband first and Raja-Saab sends her one of Shankar. Then, she instantly falls in love with him and agrees to marry him. But at the wedding, Gauri gets a shock when she sees Raja Saab, and refuses to continue with the rituals of the marriage. Raja Saab imprisons tortures and refuses to let her go. Conditions forced Shankar and Gauri to escape but both are caught by Raja and his men. They beat Shankar and throw him to his death. Gauri is taken back to Raja Saab mansion and undergo preparations to get married to him. -Yohana Kefella

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
(Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness)
Release Date: December 14, 2001
Director: Karan Johar

Stars:
Amitabh Bachchan – Yashvardhan Raichand (Yash)
Jaya Bachchan – Nandini Raichand
Shahrukh Khan – Rahul Raichand
Kajol – Anjali Sharma Raichand
Hrithik Roshan – Rohan Raichand
Kareena Kapoor – Pooja Sharma Raichand
Rani Mukerji – Naina Kapoor (Cameo)

Story:
Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Ghum, also known as K3G, is the story of family love and generational differences. The film has immense star power; Amitabh Bachchan leads the film as the paternal figure with his real life wife Jaya Bachchan as his spouse in the film. Bollywood’s favorite pair Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, lead the younger generation. Their pairing makes the movie a solidified hit. At this point in time, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor were considered new stars. The film held a monopoly over the international box office until 2006.
Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan run the wealthy Raichand family with strict traditional values. When Rahul, Shahrukh Khan, their elder son defies his father’s wishes by marrying a girl from a lower class, Anjali Swarma (Kajol), the traditional values of the Raichand household are destroyed. Thus, tearing the family apart. After being thrown out of the house, Rahul and Anjali go to London.
The film begins when the second son in the Raichand household, Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) is playing a cricket match at his boarding school. In order to win, he remembers the advice that his older brother gives him before he leaves, “If you want to be someone in life, if you want to achieve something….if you want to win, always listen to your heart,. And if your heart doesn’t give you any answers, close your eyes and think of your parents. And then you will cross all the hurdles and all your problems will vanish and victory will be yours. Only yours.” This quote leads the narrative of the film and portrays the importance of family. When Rohan envisions his family, he is able to succeed.
Rohan heads home after finishing his exams at University. On his way home he stops by to see his maternal and paternal grandmothers. The grandmothers are depressed over the loss of Rahul within the family – Rohan overhears them mourning. They then confess everything. Rohan is then determined to find his elder brother and restore unity to his family. Thus- the saga continues. -Laura Ennis

Devdas

DEVDAS (2002)

Dir: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Stars: Shahrukh Khan- Devdas Mukherji
Madhuri Dixit- Chandramukhi
Aishwarya Rai- Paro (Parvati)
Genre: Romance
Run Time: 3hrs, 4min.

Plot Summary: Devdas is a tragic love story about Paro and Devdas, who find that after years of distance, their strong childhood friendship has blossomed into an intense romance. Yet, products of different classes, Devdas’ parents forbid any marriage between the two lovers. Abiding by his parents, Devdas abandons Paro and his family and escapes to join his college friend at a local brothel. There, he meets Chandramukhi, who is stricken by Devdas confidence in her womanhood and falls in love with him. Devdas, however, cannot forget his former love. Realizing he made a huge mistake while watching Chandramukhi, Devdas quickly returns to Paro to beg for forgiveness, but Paro, hurt by Devdas’ actions, is already set to wed a wealthy older man. While Paro lives a high but miserable aristocratic life, Devdas drinks himself into sickness in Chandramukhi’s chambers. His actions foreshadow the climactic ending in which Devdas and Paro meet one last time in the most undesirable circumstances.

A beautiful display of love, loss, and vice, Devdas is a classic story in which audience members can’t help but share in Shahrukh Khan’s well-known tears. -Gabriella Wertman

Main Hoon Na

At a glance:
Title: Main Hoon Na (I’m Here Now)
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Action
Run Time: 2 hrs 53 min
Director: Farah Khan (the famous choreographer from Dil Se)
Brief Summary: College hi-jinks and terrorists
Cast: Shahrukh Khan as Ram Sharma
Naseeruddin Shah as Shekhar Sharma
Sunil Shetty as Rhagavan Datta
Zayed Khan as Lakshman Sharma
Amrita Rao as Sanjana Bakshi
Sushmita Sen as Chandni Chopra
Boman Irani as Principal
Bindu as Ms. Kaker
Satish Shah as Prof. Rasai
Kiron Kher as Madhu Sharma

Main Hoon Na is a masala film that tells the story of Major Ram Prasad Sharma (played by our favorite actor Sharukh Khan) as he searches for his long lost brother while undercover as a college student to guard his commander’s daughter. The movie begins with a declaration of Project Peace, an attempt to forge relations between India and Pakistan through a POW trade. As the announcement is made, a terrorist by the name of Rhagavan interrupts the television broadcast with his army and wreaks havoc until Major Ram swings in to save the day. Rhagavan gets away and swears revenge, but not before murdering Major Ram’s father Brigadier Shekhar Sharma, who in his last breath reveals to Ram that long ago he had another family and his dying wish is to be sent off by his two sons reunited.
Despite Ram’s attempts to get a leave of duty to search for his brother, he is put on assignment to bodyguard his commander’s daughter Sanjana – but his commander reveals to him that a boy by the name of Lakshman Prasad Sharma also attends the school. College hi-jinks ensue as Ram tries to fit in at college and stay close to an unwilling Sanjana, who hangs out with the number one biggest trouble maker in the school: Lucky.
Main Hoon Na mixes elements of youth culture, brotherhood, action and romance into a film that offers a path to peace between families and countries. It’s a throwback to the Bollywood conventions of old, both in style and presentation, even directly referencing Sholay on several occasions. Overall, Main Hoon Na is a very entertaining and fun-filled watch that leaves you with a warm, familiar feeling of satisfaction. -Angela Sham

Kal Ho Na Ho

Kal Ho Naa Ho (Tomorrow May Never Come) (2003):
A Romantic Comedy-Drama

Naina Kapur: Preity Zinta
Aman Mathur: Shahrukh Khan
Rohit Patel: Saif Ali Khan
Jennifer Kapur: Jaya Bachchan
Lajjo Kapur: Sushma Seth
Sweetu Kapoor: Delnaaz Paul

KHNH is Bollywood does Cyrano. Naina is a serious student living in New York City with her mother, younger siblings, and paternal grandmother after the death of her father. Problems within the family abound; her grandmother and mother do not get along, and her grandmother refuses to acknowledge Naina’s younger sister because she is adopted. Naina is clearly in need of some fun in her life, and her new neighbor, Aman, seems perfectly suited to the task, though Naina finds him annoying. As time progresses, she falls for him, but he seems only interested in matching her up with her best friend, Rohit, who has fallen in love with her. Populated with familiar faces from more recent films and a fair amount of Bollywood pop cultural references, KHNH is an enjoyable film that will appeal especially to viewers who enjoyed DCH and DDLJ. -Shannon Moore

Veer-Zaara

Veer-Zaara (2004)

Shahrukh Khan ...................... Veer Pratap Singh
Preity Zinta ............................Zaara Hayaat Khan
Rani Mukherjee …………….Saamiya Siddiqui
Kiron Kher ………………….Mariam Hayaat Khan
Divya Dutta ………………...Shabbo
Boman Irani ………………...Jahangir Hayaat Khan
Anupam Kher ………………Zakir Ahmed
Amitabh Bachchan …………Chaudhary Sumer Singh (Special Appearance)
Hema Malini ………………..Maati (Special Appearance)
Manoj Bajpai ……………….Razaa Shirazi (Special Appearance)
Zohra Sehgal ………………..Bebe

Veer-Zaara is a film situated in both Pakistan and the Punjab region of India. It stars the unforgettable Sharukh Khan as Squadron Leader Veer Pratap Singh, an officer in the Indian Air Force who falls in love with the beautiful Zaara Hayaat Khan, played by Preity Zinta, while he rescues her from a bus wreck. The film is told in flashback form by an aged Veer, and the film tells the story of him trying to figure out how to deal with his love for the Pakistani Zaara. Zaara is in an arranged marriage which would cement a political tie with another prominent Pakistani family, therefore she is very important to her family. Can Veer win her and her family over?
This film also introduces Rani Mukherjee, who plays Saamiya Siddique, a lawyer fighting for Veer’s freedom from prison. She is also a prominent campaigner for women’s rights, and many people don’t want her to win the case because she might catapult women to professional prominence with her success. CAN SHE DO IT!? -Grady Macklin

Swades

In this 2004 Ashutosh Gowariker-directed release, Shahrukh Khan comes to the screen yet again as a NRI (non-resident Indian) residing in Washington D.C as a wealthy project manager for NASA. Having lived in the U.S for the past twelve years, Mohan has become accustomed to the luxuries and patterns of the country, but laments his status as an orphan and believes to remedy the emptiness in his life he must venture to India to bring back his devoted nanny, Kaveriamma, played by Kishori Balal. Once in India, Mohan discovers Kaveriamma is no longer in an elderly home and has relocated to a small village called Charanpur. Though equipped with an earnest desire to seek out the only mother-figure has has left, Mohan takes along the extensions of his western lavishness in the form of a fully furnished caravan to combat the potential discomforts of village life. The village of Charanpur provides Mohan with an insight he long been detached from, revitalizing in him an appreciation for his home country as well as new level of awareness to its problems. Plagued with caste prejudices, small resources and interest in education, poverty, and no reliable source of electricity, Charanpur has thwarted progress in almost every way. Gita, played by Gayatri Joshi who makes her debut in this film, stands almost alone in her efforts in attempting to move the village along. Though a native of the village, she is no country bumpkin, having completed her studies at Delhi, and only having made her way back to Charanpur upon the death of her parents to take care of her younger brother and maintain the school that her parents established. She and Mohan were once childhood playmates, Kaveriamma acting as a mother-figure to her as well. Mohan and Gita develop a relationship conceived in a dedication to Charanpur as well as one that is suspended in competition over Kaveriamma. Throughout his stay at Charanpur, Mohan finds himself invested in the the ways of life of the village, becoming a real-life hero for its residents, but maintains an idea of home in the life he has developed abroad. Presented with a new perspective and passion, Mohan is forced to re-evaluate his priorities as a NRI and consider what a backwards town like Charanpur could possibly provide him. -Marianna Faynshteyn