# We Are Family (2010 film)
**We Are Family** (वी आर फैमिली) is a 2010 Hindi-language family drama directed by [Siddharth P. Malhotra](https://www.edgepedia.org/siddharth-p-malhotra) and an official remake of the 1998 Hollywood film *Stepmom*, produced by [Karan Johar](https://www.edgepedia.org/karan-johar), Hiroo Johar, and [Ronnie Screwvala](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronnie-screwvala) through Dharma Productions, UTV Motion Pictures, and SPE Films India[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010). It stars Kajol as the divorced mother Maya, Kareena Kapoor as her ex-husband's girlfriend Shreya, and Arjun Rampal as Aman[3](https://dharma-production.com/movie/we-are-family_2010). The film under-performed commercially and received mixed reviews, but it was reported by The Indian Express as the first official adaptation of a Hollywood film in Bollywood[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/) • [4](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/we-are-family/box-office/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / debut | Siddharth P. Malhotra's first film as director[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/) |
| Source | Official remake of *Stepmom* (1998), starring Susan Sarandon and Julia Roberts; rights secured from Sony Pictures[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/) |
| Release | 2 September 2010 per Bollywood Hungama and Box Office India; 3 September 2010 per Rotten Tomatoes and the Times of India[4](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/we-are-family/box-office/) • [5](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=81) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010) |
| Runtime | 1h 55m (115 min) per Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and JustWatch; 117 min per Box Office India[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010) • [5](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=81) |
| India box office | ₹216.4 million (₹21.64 crore) net (Bollywood Hungama) or ₹217.7 million (₹21.77 crore; Box Office India) against a ₹300 million (₹30 crore) budget; verdict: flop[4](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/we-are-family/box-office/) • [5](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=81) |
| Music | Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa; lyrics by Irshad Kamil and Anvita Dutt; six tracks[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/we-are-family-soundtrack-has-a-sense-of-deja-vu-80625-2010-08-18) |
| Ratings | IMDb 5.7/10; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 50% from 3 critics[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/we-are-family) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Maya (Kajol) is a divorced mother whose life revolves around her three children, Aleya (Aanchal Munjal), Ankush (Nominath Ginsburg), and Anjali (Diya Sonecha). Although divorced from Aman ([Arjun Rampal](https://www.edgepedia.org/arjun-rampal)), she keeps the household running smoothly so the family remains a happy unit[3](https://dharma-production.com/movie/we-are-family_2010).
The situation changes when Aman introduces his girlfriend Shreya (Kareena Kapoor), a career-oriented fashion designer with little experience of children, to the family; the children do not accept her well[3](https://dharma-production.com/movie/we-are-family_2010) • [8](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/we-are-family). Maya is then diagnosed with cervical cancer, and an incident brings the two women under the same roof, testing whether two mothers can make one home[3](https://dharma-production.com/movie/we-are-family_2010) • [8](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/we-are-family). Maya intends the marriage of Aman and Shreya for the sake of the children, and Shreya eventually moves in to ease the children's transition[8](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/we-are-family) • [9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2010/Sep/05/we-are-family-184096.html).
## Production and the official remake
**A first for Bollywood.** The Indian Express reported at the time that *We Are Family* was the first official adaptation of a Hollywood film in Bollywood, a deliberate strategy after unofficial lifts such as *Partner* had drawn legal action from the producers of *Hitch*[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/). Malhotra, making his directorial debut, said he had long wanted to make *Stepmom* in Hindi. He asked writer Venita Coelho to keep the soul of the original and the essence of its characters while giving the treatment a fresh, Indian approach; her screenplay took about eight months, and securing the remake rights from [Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures) took about nine[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/).
Malhotra described two deliberate departures from the original. The film adds the man's point of view, showing Aman as a husband and father who has failed, and it treats the three children, aged 13, 10, and 5 in the story, as dealing with their parents' divorce and accepting another woman in their father's life[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/). Kajol took two months before agreeing to the role of Maya, which parallels [Susan Sarandon](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-sarandon)'s part, while Kareena Kapoor took the [Julia Roberts](https://www.edgepedia.org/julia-roberts) role[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/). Filming included locations in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including the Twelve Apostles[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1428459).
## Music
The soundtrack was composed by the trio [Shankar Mahadevan](https://www.edgepedia.org/shankar-mahadevan), Ehsaan Noorani, and Loy Mendonsa, with lyrics by Irshad Kamil and Anvita Dutt, and contains six tracks[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/we-are-family-soundtrack-has-a-sense-of-deja-vu-80625-2010-08-18). The song "Dil khol ke let's rock" is a Hindi version of [Elvis Presley](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-presley)'s "Jailhouse Rock", staged at a karaoke bar in Sydney; the makers obtained the rights to the original melody, a process that took six months, but the license barred anything resembling Elvis's voice or image, so a new voice was used[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/). An India Today review called the album neither bad nor brilliant, finding a sense of déjà vu in most tracks, while praising the vocals of [Rahat Fateh Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rahat-fateh-ali-khan) and Shreya Ghoshal on the opening duet "Ankhon mein neendein"[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/we-are-family-soundtrack-has-a-sense-of-deja-vu-80625-2010-08-18).
## Box office
The film opened on about 900 screens in India and earned ₹31.1 million (₹3.11 crore) on its first day and ₹104.2 million (₹10.42 crore) over its first weekend, according to Box Office India[5](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=81). Bollywood Hungama's trade figures put the opening day at ₹27 million (₹2.70 crore), the opening weekend at ₹142 million (₹14.20 crore), and the lifetime India net total at ₹216.4 million (₹21.64 crore), with a worldwide gross of ₹424.2 million (₹42.42 crore) and an overseas gross of $2.67 million[4](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/we-are-family/box-office/). Box Office India's slightly different totals give ₹217.7 million (₹21.77 crore) net in India and ₹420.4 million (₹42.04 crore) worldwide against a budget of ₹300 million (₹30 crore), and both trade sources classify the film as a flop[4](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/we-are-family/box-office/) • [5](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=81). In the United States it grossed about $631,300[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010). A Bollywood Hungama trade report noted that the below-mark performance came as a surprise within the industry, but that investors might recover through pre-sale of satellite and music rights[11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-business-talk/whats-its-fate/).
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave it 2 out of 5, writing that the official remake of *Stepmom* "makes it look as if it can't be done" to refill outlines that had been firmly drawn[12](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/we-are-family-3/). Rachel Saltz of The New York Times gave 2.5 out of 5, saying the film succeeds as a wallow mostly thanks to its stars[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010). Simon Foster of SBS judged that it "mostly works despite its shortcomings" and that its heart is in the right place[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010). The Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer stood at 50 percent from three critics, and the film has an IMDb rating of 5.7[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/we-are-family).
Reviewers repeatedly measured the film against its source. A Gulf News review argued the attempt to "Bollywoodise" *Stepmom* was shoddy, singling out songs placed at wrong moments, but credited Kareena Kapoor with the stronger performance as the career woman learning motherhood[13](https://gulfnews.com/going-out/movie-reviews/we-are-family-is-no-stepmom-1.677631). A New Indian Express review found the film a movie about women that reduces Shreya to a spineless martyr, while noting the comic relief provided by the son Ankush[9](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2010/Sep/05/we-are-family-184096.html).
## Availability
In India the film currently streams on Amazon Prime Video, with ads on Prime Video and free with ads on JioHotstar[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/we-are-family). It was removed from Netflix India on 1 May 2025[14](https://in.flixboss.com/movie/we-are-family-70150437).
## References
1. [Film Funda, The Indian Express (13 August 2010)](https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/film-funda/)
2. [We Are Family (2010), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/we_are_family_2010)
3. [We Are Family – 2010, Dharma Productions](https://dharma-production.com/movie/we-are-family_2010)
4. [We Are Family Box Office Collection, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/we-are-family/box-office/)
5. [We Are Family, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=81)
6. ['We Are Family' soundtrack has a sense of deja vu, India Today (19 August 2010)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/we-are-family-soundtrack-has-a-sense-of-deja-vu-80625-2010-08-18)
7. [We Are Family streaming, JustWatch India](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/we-are-family)
8. [We are Family (2010), Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/movie/we-are-family)
9. [We Are Family review, The New Indian Express (5 September 2010)](https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2010/Sep/05/we-are-family-184096.html)
10. [We Are Family (2010), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1428459)
11. [Box office Business Talk: What's its fate?, Bollywood Hungama (8 September 2010)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-business-talk/whats-its-fate/)
12. [We are Family review, The Indian Express (3 September 2010)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/we-are-family-3/)
13. [We are Family is no Stepmom, Gulf News](https://gulfnews.com/going-out/movie-reviews/we-are-family-is-no-stepmom-1.677631)
14. [Where to watch We Are Family (2010) on Netflix, Flixboss](https://in.flixboss.com/movie/we-are-family-70150437)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2010s › Hindi films of 2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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