Yashvardhan [Amitabh Bachchan] Raichand is a wealthy Delhi-based businessman who leads a refined life with his wife Nandini [Jaya Bachchan] Raichand, their son Rahul [Shah Rukh Khan] Raichand, and their other relatives. Rahul discovers, at the age of eight, that he is adopted, a truth that shades his sense of belonging. Despite Nandini’s deep love for him, Rahul grows up carrying a heavy weight of duty to meet his parents’ high expectations, balancing affection with obligation in a family that expects perfection.
As an adult, Rahul falls for Anjali Sharma [Kajol], a bright and lively woman from Chandni Chowk. Yash disapproves of the match because of their different social backgrounds and instead hopes Rahul will marry Naina Kapoor [Rani Mukerji], a family friend who quietly harbors feelings for him. Understanding Rahul’s true love, Naina steps aside, choosing his happiness over her own desires. Rahul eventually marries Anjali after her father’s sudden death, but Yash’s disapproval crescendos into a shattering moment: he disowns Rahul, prompting Rahul to leave for London with Anjali and her younger sister Pooja [Kareena Kapoor Khan]. In the wake of this estrangement, Nandini, heartbroken, sends the family’s nanny Sayeeda [Farida Jalal] to accompany them, and Rohan is sent to boarding school, growing up apart from the world he once knew.
Ten years pass, and Rohan returns home with a renewed resolve to heal the rift in his family. He learns about Rahul’s estrangement through a conversation between the grandmothers and makes it his mission to reunite them all. He travels to London under the pretext of pursuing an MBA, using that journey as a route back to his roots. There, he reconnects with Pooja, now a university student, and together they formulate a plan to bring Rahul back to India. To keep his real identity hidden, Pooja introduces Rohan to Rahul as “Yash,” a friend’s cousin visiting from India who needs a place to stay, and Rahul, sensing a strange kinship, agrees to host him.
Rohan forms a warm bond with his nephew Krishi Raichand [Jibraan Khan] and develops a budding romance with Pooja. Despite several close calls and near-disclosures, Rahul remains blissfully unaware of his cousin’s true identity. Eventually, Rohan reveals the truth and urges Rahul to return home. Rahul hesitates, fearing he has been permanently rejected by Yash, but Pooja encourages Rohan to invite their parents to London to test the resilience of their bonds. Nandini and Yash travel to London; Nandini greets Rahul with an emotional warmth, while Rahul recoils from his father’s presence.
When Yash learns of the ruse, anger flares, and the family’s egos threaten to fracture what remains. Yet the family perseveres, and they eventually return to India after Yash’s mother’s death. Rahul attends the funeral, and, persuaded by Rohan and Pooja, agrees to return briefly for Nandini’s sake. In Delhi, preparations begin to formally welcome Anjali, and the bond between Rohan and Pooja deepens as their engagement is announced. During the ceremony, Yash publicly acknowledges the pain his rigid stance caused, expressing regret for disowning Rahul while admitting that, beneath his strict exterior, he always loved him. The reconciliation culminates in an emotional embrace that seals the family’s renewed unity.
The film closes on a joyous note as the Raichand family gathers to celebrate the weddings that symbolize their restored harmony. Rohan and Pooja’s union stands alongside the mended ties between Rahul, Anjali, Nandini, and Yash, marking a hopeful return to togetherness and shared happiness for a family that weathered severing and separation to find its way back to one another.
