10 Bollywood Family Dramas To Watch If You Love Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (And Where to Stream Them)
Films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham don’t come around every day. Despite being Karan Johar’s second directorial venture, the movie set out with grand ambitions from the start. Featuring an A-list ensemble of Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, and Hrithik Roshan, the film already had all eyes on it even before its release. But while the star cast grabbed everyone's attention, it was the movie’s deeply emotional narrative that kept audiences engaged for decades after its release.
K3G is a powerful multigenerational family saga that masterfully explores how a family’s love for one another is strong enough to reunite them after years of estrangement and heartache. Featuring larger-than-life sets, iconic costumes that defined early 2000s fashion, and a treasure trove of memorable dialogues that are quoted to this day, K3G has cemented its place as one of Bollywood's timeless classics. A formula that’s been recreated time and again by Bollywood following the film’s monumental success.
If you’re interested in watching movies similar to Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, here are 10 other Bollywood family sagas that you might like:
A good-hearted but good for nothing LLB fail, Sattu falls in love with Katha, a girl far out of his league. By some stroke of luck, the two end up getting married, but even then Katha struggles to fully open up to him. At first glance, Satyaprem Ki Katha might come across as one of Bollywood’s many family-romance ensembles, full of wedding drama, emotions, and sweeping romantic songs. But it's so much more layered, tackling sensitive themes like trauma and sexual assault with tenderness through the lens of a newly married couple.
Satyaprem Ki Katha takes that larger-than-life Bollywood spectacle and blends it with a grounded, socially relevant story, making it essential viewing for anyone who’s a fan of Bollywood and socially conscious films. That said, this film isn’t for everyone. If you find yourself triggered by themes like sexual assault, you may find this difficult to watch. If you’re looking for a light, breezy, feel-good family drama, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayege, Dil Dhadakne Do, and Hum Saath Saath Hain might be more suitable follow-ups to K3G.
Before Karan Johar went on to direct some of the biggest films in Indian cinema, he worked as an assistant director to Aditya Chopra on his directorial debut, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayege (DDLJ). Which tracks, considering you can clearly see the influences of DDLJ in K3G.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayege needs no introduction, it redefined the template of Bollywood romance forever, and still continues to play in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir cinema. It’s an easy follow-up to K3G given that both films share not only the iconic pairing of Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan, but also the same DNA of combining romance with melodrama, humour, generational conflict, and memorable music making this a perfect watch for fans of romantic dramas and nostalgic Bollywood movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. And, if you enjoyed the British setting of K3G, you’ll love DDLJ’s stunning landscapes of Switzerland where Raj and Simran’s iconic love story unfolds.
Hum Aapke Hain Koun (HAHK) walked so K3G could run. Directed by Sooraj Barjatya, this ‘90s classic stars Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan in a big, fat, Bollywood spectacle that revived family sagas. The story is simple: Prem and Nisha fall in love, but are torn between family duties and love. But Hum Aapke Hain Koun is more about how the story unfolds than the story itself. If you’re a fan of musicals, Hum Aapke Hain Koun is a must-watch, for how it uses music as a backbone and takes you through a whole journey of celebrations, traditions, and sorrow.
It’s also the perfect ‘90s counterpart for fans who loved the grand emotional beats of K3G, and just like Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in K3G, Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit’s pairing here is unforgettable. It may come across a little old-fashioned to modern viewers, but for fans of sweeping family sagas, Hum Aap Ke Hain Koun stands firm as essential viewing.
Also directed by Sooraj Barjatya, Hum Saath Saath Hain is another big family musical that doubles down on everything from Hum Aapke Hain Koun. This multigenerational family saga follows three brothers and their intertwined relationships that are tested when money, misunderstandings, and egos come into play. Much like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Hum Saath Saath Hain takes a star studded ensemble and places it into the grandeur of joint family life, with big houses, bigger weddings, and endless festivities, but in an even more traditional, idealistic mould.
Hum Saath Saath Hain may not be the right choice for you if you’re after the same glamorous, emotionally charged, and modern tone and setting as K3G, but it does make for a great nostalgic watch, and one that you can enjoy with your entire family if you’re into wholesome, feel-good family dramas, with a more optimistic take on joint families. If you’re after a film that keeps up with K3G in terms of grandeur and vibe, more recent releases like Dil Dhadakne Do or Rocky Au Rani Kii Prem Kahaani will hit the mark with their modern setting, contemporary storytelling, and star studded ensembles.
It’s very hard to empathize with Amitabh Bachchan’s stoic and headstrong patriarch Yash Raichand in K3G, and if you also found his parenting style too hard to handle, don’t worry, Baghban, gives him a taste of his own medicine. Jokes aside, the film flips the dynamic: instead of being the authoritative father, Bachchan plays Raj Malhotra, a loving family man who’s sidelined by his own family after retirement. While K3G celebrated the power of parental authority and reconciliation, Baghban steps in and asks whether kids ever repay the sacrifices their parents make. If you’re a fan of heavy handed, emotional family-dramas, Baghban will feel right at home for you, but if you’re looking for a movie that balances its heaviness with glamour and splendor, then this might seem too sobering for you. Fans of weighty family drama will also enjoy Waqt and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. There’s nothing explicitly inappropriate in the film, but its mature tone, weighty themes, and emotional intensity make it far better suited for adults than as an easy watch with kids. Honestly, if nothing else, the romantic reunion of Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan’s on-screen pairing is reason enough to watch it.
Going down as Karan Johar’s most controversial film yet, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna or KANK takes a sharp turn from Johar’s usual ode to family and love, focusing instead on unfulfilled desires and extramarital affairs. Turning Bollywood’s poster boy for romance, Shah Rukh Khan into a bitter, frustrated ex-footballer stuck in an unhappy marriage, and portraying infidelity as a complex, human choice instead of something villainous was a daring move for a 2006 Bollywood film.
And while the movie was well ahead of its time, the gamble split audiences sharply given that it humanised infidelity. That said, the film still found its audience over the years. If you’re someone who appreciates nuanced, layered takes on relationships, and still enjoy the glitz and spectacle of a Karan Johar production, KANK will hit all the right notes. But if you prefer your romantic films more idealistic, with clear moral lines, and strong family values then this film might be too cynical for you.
At this point, it might as well be a list of Amitabh Bachchan films where he plays a stoic father clashing with his son. Waqt sits between K3G and Baghban: like Baghban, it centres on an aging father with a strong emotional core, but like K3G, it carries a bigger scale, with a star-studded cast and an emotional family saga driving the drama.
If you love family sagas and don’t mind a heavy dose of emotion, Waqt is the way to go. In pace, the film sits alongside Baghban and Kal Ho Naa Ho, beginning with an entertaining, light-hearted first half before slowing down into a tearful, emotionally charged second half that delivers its most powerful moments.
Kapoor & Sons may share the same DNA of a family drama with K3G, but it’s almost anti-K3G in spirit. While Karan Johar’s K3G revels in family members jetting off in private planes, wearing designer clothes, and living in grand mansions, Kapoor & Sons strips it all down to the raw, unglamorous messiness of a middle-class home in Coonoor. Sibling rivalries, financial strains, family secrets—Kapoor & Sons tackles more of the everyday struggles each family faces, making it a far more relatable and grounded portrayal of modern Indian families.
What makes it stand out is its honesty; beneath the humour and warmth lies a story that isn’t afraid to confront uncomfortable truths about love, jealousy, and acceptance. If K3G is about the fantasy of family, Kapoor & Sons is about its reality. If you enjoy grounded, realistic dramas like Dear Zindagi or Piku, you’ll feel right at home with Kapoor & Sons.
If there’s one fictional Bollywood family that can match the Raichands of K3G when it comes to wealth, power, and dysfunction, it’s the Mehras from Dil Dhadakne Do. Directed by Zoya Akhtar, this drama-filled family saga takes viewers on a luxury cruise across Europe while navigating divorce, love triangles, affairs, and all the complications that come with keeping up appearances in high society.
It’s equal parts entertaining and emotional, matching K3G in scale, tone, star power, and storytelling ambition—but with a modern, witty, and more satirical edge. If you love stories that dig into the dysfunction behind picture-perfect families like Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and Kapoor & Sons, then Dil Dhadakne Do is made for you.
