Nikkhil Advani who was an assistant filmmaker at the sets of one of the most celebrated films 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' recently talked about how the makers of the film were falling short of the finances. 

He said, "He (Yash Johar) took the paper on which we had written it,
folded it, put it in his pocket and said, 'Ok, go
and make the film. It was a huge number back
in 2000. On the first day of the shoot, we were
shooting 'Bole Chudiyan', with 200 dancers,
300 juniors and the entire star cast was there.
We had taken Filmistan studio, which actually
has ten floors, and all ten were taken by us. So
Filmistan studio had become Dharma studios.”

He further added, "Art budget was Rs 3 crore for the entire film, and you have spent Rs 3 crore and 60 lakhs on one set." The filmmaker tore the paper on which the film's budget was estimated and told Advani to make the film. "The eventual budget of the film was Rs 54.5
cr."

Nikkhil concluded,  "We were about to sign with a
very big studio, the deal fell through. Yash ji
went to a person he was very close to and said,
"I have no money. I have spent so much money
and I need this. But, that person said, 'No, I can
only give you this much."

The filmmaker also shared how at a point Yash Johar decided to distribute the film by himself at 17.5 percent refundable commission.

The filmmaker added, "Dharma Productions stands on the shoulders of three films- 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai',
"Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and 'Kal Ho Na Ho.”

Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham released in 2001 and featured Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Kajol.

Source: Film Companion