Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... - Cast

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Yashvardhan "Yash" Raichand, a New Delhi-based businessman. Fiercely dominating, he insists on controlling the life of his wife and sons. Amitabh Bachchan was Karan's first choice for the portrayal of Yash Raichand. Karan added, "As I wrote the film, I realised that Yashvardhan Raichand is the backbone of the film and I could only see one actor playing the role — Amitabh Bachchan." Bachchan, on his part, agreed to do the film without a script narration. Karan mentioned that he was initially scared to direct a star of the stature of Bachchan, but the latter "soon became an actor instead of a superstar".
• Jaya Bachchan as Nandini Raichand, Yash's wife. She shares a close bond with her sons, but remains in the shadow of her husband. According to Karan Johar, Jaya Bachchan was the "obvious" choice for the character of Nandini, and added that her "acting prowess and stature" were the other reasons for him preferring to cast her. The film also marked the return of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan together on screen after a gap of 18 years. Of her character, she said that Nandini was an extension of her own self. She elaborated, "My personal feelings towards Shah Rukh are similar to what I was supposed to portray in the film. There's something about him that makes me want to mother him." She added that she modeled her character on Karan's mother, Hiroo Johar, who "is a very emotional and sentimental person."
• Shahrukh Khan as Rahul Raichand, Yash and Nandini's adopted son. He feels indebted to his parents and tries to fulfill all their wishes. However, he falls in love with Anjali and invites the wrath of Yash. When Karan offered the role to Khan, he immediately agreed to do it and accommodated his dates, despite having several other commitments. Khan described the character of Rahul by saying, "I love the vulnerability and the honesty in his eyes. He has the appeal of a boy next door. Besides, his intensity and ability to convey emotions without words is amazing."
• Kajol as Anjali Sharma Raichand, Rahul's love-interest and later, wife. She is a fun-loving Punjabi woman living in the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi. Belonging to a lower socio-economic group than the Raichand family, she is not accepted by Yash as his daughter-in-law. Karan was initially hesitant to cast Kajol in the film, as he felt that she would refuse the offer due to her recent marriage. Kajol, however, was moved to tears during the script narration and agreed to do the film. In an interview to Filmfare, Kajol said, "One tiny fact that Karan forgot to mention during his narration was just how much Punjabi my character spoke in the film. I nearly died when I saw the lines of dialogue on the first day of shooting." However, she learnt the right pronunciation and diction with the help of Yash Johar and the crew members.
• Hrithik Roshan as Rohan Raichand, Yash and Nandini's biological son. He wants his elder brother, Rahul, to return home. Karan signed Roshan to play the character of Rohan after watching a rough cut of the latter's debut film, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000). Roshan described his character as a "buffer" in a film that primarily focused on Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan.
• Kareena Kapoor as Pooja "Poo" Sharma, Anjali's younger sister. She is a sophisticated girl, who helps Rohan in his plan to reunite Rahul with his parents. After spotting Kapoor at a party organized by Bombay Times, Karan decided to cast her immediately for the role of the glamorous diva, Poo. Kapoor stated that in her opinion, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... was primarily Kajol's film, and that her own character was a supporting one. In order to prepare for her role, she worked hard on her dancing skills, as she didn't want audiences to know that she couldn't dance well.
• Rani Mukerji as Naina Kapoor, a socialite girl who loves Rahul and wants to marry him, and Yashvardhan approves of her. Following the success of Karan's previous film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which starred Khan, Kajol and Mukerji, he wanted her presence in this film too. He thus cast Mukerji in a guest appearance. Initially, Karan wanted her presence in the film to be a surprise, but an accidental slip by Sony Music during the promotional activities led to her discovery.
• Farida Jalal as Sayeeda / Daijan (DJ), Rahul and Rohan's nanny. On the insistence of Nandini, she follows Rahul and Anjali to London.
• Simone Singh as Rukhsaar, Anjali's best friend
• Alok Nath as Anjali and Pooja's father
• Kavish Majmudar as the younger Rohan Raichand
• Malvika Raaj as the younger Pooja Sharma
• Aryan Khan (Shahrukh Khan's real-life son) as the younger Rahul (special appearance)
• Jugal Hansraj as Rohan's friend (special appearance)

Achala Sachdev and Sushma Seth were cast as Yash and Nandini's mothers, respectively. The film also featured Johnny Lever as Haldiram (a shopkeeper in Chandni Chowk), Himani Shivpuri as Haldiram's wife, Jibraan Khan as Krish Raichand (Rahul and Anjali's son), Amar Talwar as Mr. Kapoor (Yash's friend and Naina's father). Ramona Sunavala, Jeroo Writer and Vikas Sethi feature as Poo's friends Sonya, Tanya and Robbie, respectively. Additionally, Ashutosh Singh features as Ashfaque, Rukshaar's husband. Shilpa Mehta, Shashikala and Parzan Dastur were cast as Ashfaque's mother, grandmother and nephew, respectively.