Even though ‘ Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham ’ (K3G), Karan Johar 's second film as director, was about loving the family, the mood on the multi-starrer's sets was far from homely and welcoming. At least, not for Hrithik Roshan . In his autobiography ‘An Unsuitable Boy’, Karan disclosed that he felt "‘really sad" about the distance that Amitabh Bachchan , Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan , and Kajol had between them.
The director said that the hostility on the set was because of the success of ‘ Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai ’. Hrithik was being compared to Shah Rukh and hailed as the next big thing in Bollywood following the huge success of ‘Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’. “It was unfair because he was too junior, and Shah Rukh was already such a big star.
But that was a phase when one or two of Shah Rukh’s films had gone wrong and the media had started projecting Hrithik up there,” Karan wrote in his book. He further added, “The negativity that crept in was not justified or correct, and it was really sad. I felt Hrithik was the only one during the course of the shooting who needed a little hand-holding.
See, the Bachchans didn’t have that equation with him. Shah Rukh was a bit distant at that time because of everything that was happening. Kajol was Team Shah Rukh.
” While filming ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’, Karan believed that Hrithik was a "lost child" and did his best to make him comfortable. “I felt I needed to hold his hand a bit. And we developed a really good frie.