History Film / KalHoNaaHo

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kalhonaaho15.jpg]]
''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (''Tomorrow We May Or May Not Be There'') is a 2003 UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} film written and produced (but not directed) by Karan Johar. It is generally considered a good "introductory film" for those new to the genre.

It centers around business student Naina Kapur and her family and friends, all of whom are unhappy... until the outgoing Aman arrives in their neighborhood and takes it upon himself to better their lives. Wacky hijinks, romance, and a healthy dose of angst ensue.

* BoyfriendBluff: Naina pretends to date Rohit so Aman will leave her alone; however, Aman quickly figures out that they're really just good friends.

* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Jennifer's husband and Naina's [[DisappearedDad father]] ended up having an extramarital affair which resulted in the birth of Gia. Jennifer not only accepted Gia, but managed to forgive her husband for his adultery, writing it off as a mistake. Mr. Kapur, however saw his unfaithfulness towards Jennifer as an [[ThisIsUnforgivable unforgivable]] [[MyGreatestFailure mistake]] and her forgiveness reflected how good a person she was, adding [[FromBadToWorse fuel to the fire]] and he was DrivenToSuicide.]]

* KnightOfCerebus: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with Aman. The movie looks fairly depressing, then Enter Aman, who single handedly turns it into an upbeat RomCom. That being said, Aman does have a [[SecretlyDying dark secret]] and after TheReveal it gets dramatic again...

* CoolLoser:
** Sweetu despite her looks and outgoing nature.
** Rohit too. Despite being a good catch, the women who express interest in him either have ulterior motives, or only do so after prompting.

* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler: Gia is [[TheReveal revealed]] to be Mr. Kapur's illegitimate daughter born out of wedlock from an extramarital affair. Her biological mother wouldn't care for her, and her father committed suicide out of guilt some time after Jenny adopted her.]]

* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Naina and Rohit.

* EvilMatriarch: Evil is a stretch, but Lajjo is the main reason for her family's strife for much of the film due to her fights with Jenny, which takes a toll on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Jennifer and her mother-in-law constantly argue, with Lajjo criticizing everything her daughter-in-law does.

** Jenny is a loving mother who works hard to provide for her family and tries her best to support her children, especially Naina, through difficult times. [[spoiler:Taken to the extreme with Gia, to whom she is a GoodStepmother. Despite the AwfulTruth that Gia is her husband's child from an illicit affair, Jenny took her in when Gia's biological parents couldn't/wouldn't, and raised and loved the girl as her own daughter.]]

** Jenny is a loving mother who works hard to provide for her family and tries her best to support her children, especially Naina, through difficult times. [[spoiler:Taken to the extreme with Gia, to whom she is a GoodStepmother. Despite the AwfulTruth that Gia is her husband's child from an illicit affair, Jenny took her when Gia's biological parents couldn't/wouldn't, and raised and loved the girl as her own daughter.]]

** Jenny is a loving mother who works hard to provide for her family and tries her best to support her children, especially Naina, through difficult times. [[spoiler:Taken to an extreme with Gia, to whom she is a GoodStepmother. Despite the AwfulTruth that Gia is her husband's child from an illicit affair, Jenny took Gia in when her biological parents couldn't/wouldn't, and raised and loved the girl as her own daughter.]]

** Sweetu despite her good looks and outgoing nature.

* HesNotMyBoyfriend: Inverted. Naina pretends to date Rohit so Aman will leave her alone; however, Aman quickly figures out that they're really just good friends.

* GoodParents: Jenny is a loving mother who works hard to provide for her family and tries her best to support her children, especially Naina, through difficult times. [[spoiler:Taken to an extreme with Gia, to whom she is a GoodStepmother. Despite the AwfulTruth that Gia is her husband's child from an illicit affair, Jenny took Gia in when her biological parents couldn't/wouldn't, and raised and loved the girl as her own daughter.]]

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Aman]] takes this to an extreme with ''everybody.''

* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Genders inverted; Aman is this to Naina.

* ObnoxiousInLaws: Jennifer and her mother-on-law constantly argue, with Lajjo criticizing everything her daughter-in-law does.

* {{Narrator}}: Naina. The entire film is a {{Flashback}} as she tells the story to her younger sister.

** [[spoiler: Notably, Lajjo is shocked and remorseful after learning the above and how Jenny kept the truth hidden all these years to preserve Mr. Kapur's reputation with his family.]]

* CoolLoser: Sweetu.

* DisappearedDad: the late Mr. Kapur.

* DysfunctionalFamily: The Kapurs. They come together in the end after Aman [[spoiler:reveals the late patriarch's DarkSecret.]]
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Jennifer's husband and Naina's [[DisappearedDad father]] ended up having an extramarital affair which resulted in the birth of Gia. Jennifer not only took in Gia, but managed to forgive her husband for his adultery, writing it off as a mistake. Mr. Kapur, however saw his unfaithfulness towards Jennifer as an [[ThisIsUnforgivable unforgivable]] [[MyGreatestFailure mistake]] and her forgiveness reflected how good a person she was, adding [[FromBadToWorse fuel to the fire]] and he was DrivenToSuicide.]]

* EvilMatriarch: Lajjo for much of the film.

* TheGlassesGottaGo: Subverted. Aman removes Naina's glasses for what he intends to be a BeautifulAllAlong moment, but it backfires because Naina really is BlindWithoutEm.
** Naina does eventually get contact lenses, however.

* GoodParents: Jenny is a loving mother who works hard to provide for her family and tries her best to support her children, especially Naina, through difficult times. [[spoiler:Taken to an extreme with Gia, to whom she is a GoodStepmother. Despite the AwfulTruth that Gia is her husband's child from an illicit affair, Jenny took the girl in when her blood-related parents couldn't/wouldn't, and raised and loved her as her own daughter.]]

* [[ShesNotMyGirlfriend He's Not My Boyfriend]]: Inverted. Naina pretends to date Rohit so Aman will leave her alone; however, Aman quickly figures out that they're really just good friends.

* InnocentInnuendo: Rohit gleefully tells Naina that he spent all weekend in bed with "Laila." Cut to Rohit's bedroom, where we see Rohit... and Laila the golden retriever licking his face.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lajjo becomes this at the end of the film after reconciling with Jenny.

* MeetCute: Aman and Naina do this twice. The first time is a CrashIntoHello, subverted because Naina doesn't see him. The second time, she opens her window to yell at Aman to keep quiet. The two have a silent mini-conversation with their eyes until Naina stomps away, at which point Aman begins the first CrowdSong.

** [[spoiler: Mr. Kapur had an affair with another woman, resulting in Gia's birth. Jenny had forgiven her husband for betraying her, but [[MyGreatestFailure he couldn't]] and was subsequently DrivenToSuicide.]]
** [[spoiler: Lajjo is shocked and remorseful after learning why her son took his life and how Jenny kept the truth hidden all these years to preserve his reputation and protect her children.]]

* NiceGuy: Rohit.

* ParentalAbandonment:
** Naina's father committed suicide sometime prior to the film, which is the root of her bitterness as she struggles with the rift his death caused in her family and grief over him leaving her. [[spoiler: She gets some closure after learning his reasons for doing so in his suicide note.]]
** [[spoiler: Gia is [[TheReveal revealed]] to be Mr. Kapur's illegitimate daughter born out of wedlock from an extramarital affair. Her biological mother wouldn't care for her, and her father committed suicide out of guilt some time after Jenny adopted her.]]

* TheUnfavorite: Gia, whose grandmother refuses to accept her because apparently, she is adopted. It's later shown that Lajjo [[MisplacedRetribution believes Gia's adoption brought misfortune to her family and caused her son to commit suicide]]. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Aman sets her straight when he reveals Gia is her illegitimate granddaughter from her son's affair, which prompts Lajjo to finally welcome her into the family.]]

** [[spoiler: Mr. Kapur had an affair with another woman, resulting in Gia's birth. Jenny had forgiven her husband for betraying her, but [[MyGreatestFailure he]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone couldn't]] and was subsequently DrivenToSuicide.]]

* TheUnfavorite: Gia, whose grandmother refuses to accept her because apparently, she is adopted. It's later shown that her grandmother [[MisplacedRetribution believes Gia's adoption brought misfortune to her family and caused her son to commit suicide]]. [[spoiler: Thankfully, Aman sets her straight when he reveals Gia is her illegitimate grandmother from her son's affair, which prompts her grandmother to finally welcome her into the family.]]

* DysfunctionalFamily: the Kapurs.
* EasilyForgiven:[[spoiler: [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]]. Jennifer's husband and Naina's [[DisappearedDad father]] ended up having an extramarital affair which resulted in the birth of Gia. Jennifer forgave her husband for his adultery, writing it off as a mistake. Mr. Kapur, however saw his unfaithfulness towards Jennifer as an [[ThisIsUnforgivable unforgivable]] [[MyGreatestFailure mistake]] and her forgiveness reflected how good a person she was, adding [[FromBadToWorse fuel to the fire]] and he was DrivenToSuicide.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lajjo becomes this at the end of the film.

* MoodWhiplash: The first half of the film is a light-hearted romantic comedy - then everything goes South as it's suddenly revealed that [[spoiler: Aman is dying of an incurable heart condition and can't find a donor.]]
* MultigenerationalHousehold: the Kapurs.

* OneTrueThreesome: Emphasized by the fact that Aman and Rohit, despite being in love with the same person, do not antagonize each other over Naina at all, and are so close that when others assume that they're gay lovers, they play it up for all it's worth. Additionally, Aman does not hold a grudge against Rohit for marrying Naina, especially since he actually set the whole thing up himself, and would rather see them happy. Rohit for his part is fully aware that if not for the fact that [[spoiler: Aman is terminally ill and doesn't have much longer to live,]] that Naina would have chosen Aman without a second thought, and honestly would have both accepted and preferred that outcome had it been possible.

* ThemeTune: the titular song.
* TheUnfavorite: Gia, whose grandmother refuses to accept her because apparently, she is adopted. [[spoiler: It is later [[TheReveal revealed]] that she actually was Jenny's husband's illegitimate child born out of wedlock. Jenny had forgiven her husband, but [[MyGreatestFailure he]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone couldn't]] and was DrivenToSuicide.]]

* NonNaziSwastika: Naina and Jennifer paint a Manji (a Buddhist symbol that the Nazis reversed ro use as part of their emblem) in the window of their restaurant - in New York - as part of its revamping. No one comments on this, and the new concept is a huge success despite how IRL even people who know the difference would be quite uncomfortable with the choice in decor.

''Kal Ho Naa Ho'' (''Tomorrow We May Or May Not Be There'' is a 2003 UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} film written and produced (but not directed) by Karan Johar. It is generally considered a good "introductory film" for those new to the genre.

A 2003 UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} film written and produced (but not directed) by Karan Johar. It is generally considered a good "introductory film" for those new to the genre.