It tells the story of an Indian multimillionaire family, which faces troubles and misunderstandings over their adopted son's marriage to a girl belonging to a lower socio-economic group than them.

Initially scheduled for the Diwali festivities of 2001, the film was eventually released in India, the United Kingdom and North America on 14 December 2001.

He lives in Delhi with his wife Nandini, his two sons Rahul and Rohan as well as his mother Lajwanti Raichand and mother-in-law Harbans Kaur.

Yash entrusts both his sons to follow the patriarchal traditions such as; attending boarding school at young age, going to university for an MBA degree, and parents choosing their children’s spouses from the same income class.

Adult Rahul returns home after completing his studies in London, and falls in love with the vivacious Anjali, his and Rohan's nanny Sayeeda's neighbour from Chandni Chowk.

He learns that Rahul, Anjali, and Pooja have moved to London; he travels there, lying to Yash by pursuing his further studies for an MBA degree.

Rohan takes admission in the same college and after initial banters finally discloses his identity in front of her making her happy to reunite with her childhood friend.

He tells her about his quest to bring Rahul and Anjali back to home as the sole reason behind coming to London and she lands her support in this.

Sayeeda realises "Yash" is none other than Rohan when he accidentally calls her "DJ" which he always referred to her since his childhood while Anjali too comes to know about same but he asks to not disclose this truth infront of Rahul.

However, on the advice of his cousin, filmmaker Aditya Chopra, who thought that the male characters would be too weak, Karan decided to tweak the story-line to make it the story of two brothers.

[17] Before principal photography could begin, Karan and the contracted costume designers (Manish Malhotra, Shabina Khan and Rocky S) shopped in several locations of the US, London, Milan, and New Delhi to get the right look for each of the cast members.

[19] The first schedule of the film began in Mumbai on 16 October 2000, with the picturisation of the song "Bole Chudiyan" involving Roshan, Kapoor, Khan and Kajol.

Shooting locations include the Millennium Stadium, Bluewater in Kent,[27] Blenheim Palace, St Paul's Cathedral and the banks of River Thames.

[29] The crew faced enormous difficulties while filming an emotional scene between Jaya Bachchan and Khan at the Bluewater Complex, as a massive crowd had gathered there to watch them at work.

[30] Another song sequence ("Suraj Hua Maddham") involving Khan and Kajol was shot with the backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza in the city of Cairo in Egypt.

During the confrontation scene between Yash and Rahul Raichand, a "thundering background score" coupled with "360° panning shots" were used to build up melodrama.

She added that while such scenes simply began by reprising previous face-offs in several melodramatic Hindi films (such as Mohabbatein (2000)), they gradually shifted "to a more realist register as the framework moves from a sociology to a psychology of the family".

He referred to the song "Suraj Hua Maddham" as an extradiegetic sequence that allowed Rahul and Anjali to be physically intimate "in ways that they could not in the real world of the film."

He added that the characters conveyed a plethora of emotions not through extensive dialogue but through the exchange of glances, which were demonstrated by extreme close-ups on their eyes.

[39] Writing for the book Movie Blockbusters, Andrew Willis commented that the film was specifically written to appeal to the Indian diaspora.

He explained that the film was aimed at invoking nostalgia among the large section of NRI's in Canada, United Kingdom and North America.

[40] In the second half of the film, Rahul and Anjali move to London, where they enjoy an affluent lifestyle, among several non-Indian neighbours and friends.

[42][43] According to Eckstein, several sequences convey a "culturally conservative" and "idealistic image" of India, while maintaining that the diaspora living in Britain lead a life of "involuntary exile".

[49] The use of "Jana Gana Mana" by Rabindranath Tagore during the film was met with criticism from a certain section of the audiences, and politicians of the Bharatiya Janata Party, for being "out-of-context" and "insulting the national pride".

It received praise for its visual richness and the performances of the cast, but criticism towards the lengthy run time, the script strength and inconsistencies.

Khalid Mohamed of The Times of India applauded the film in a five-star review: "K3G is the complete commercial banquet delivered with fabulous finesse by Karan Johar.

"[57] Contrary to the positive reviews, Anjum N., writing for Rediff, said that despite an extraordinary cast and a big budget, "Karan Johar disappoints."

[58] Writing for The Hindu, Ziya Us Salam praised Kajol's performance and Karan's ability to "keep the viewer occupied".

"[53] Namrata Joshi of Outlook gave a mixed review and said that while the film "makes you laugh and cry alternately", the shenanigans were nevertheless "fake and affected" and "monochromatic despite the profusion of colours".

[73][74] In an interview with Filmfare, Karan Johar said that he was not dejected to have not won many awards at the ceremony, as he felt that Lagaan was "a classic" and deserved to win.