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Mohabbatein
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAditya Chopra
Written byAditya Chopra
Produced byYash Chopra
Starring
CinematographyManmohan Singh
Edited byV. Karnik
Music bySongs:
Jatin–Lalit
Score:
Babloo Chakravorty
Production
company
Release date
  • 27 October 2000 (2000-10-27)
Running time
215 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹13–19 crore[2][3]
Box office₹90.01 crore[4]

Mohabbatein (transl. Romances) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan with Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai alongside newcomers Uday Chopra, Shamita Shetty, Jugal Hansraj, Kim Sharma, Jimmy Sheirgill, and Preeti Jhangiani, and narrates the story of Narayan, the strict principal of Gurukul college whose daughter, Megha, commits suicide after he opposes her relationship with his student, Raj, who returns as a music teacher at the college to aid three young students rebel against Narayan's intolerance of love.

Originally planned to be Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, Mohabbatein became his second film after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). Its themes were inspired by those from the 1989 American coming-of-age drama Dead Poets Society. The principal photography of Mohabbatein, which was filmed in the United Kingdom, was handled by Manmohan Singh between October 1999 and July 2000. Sharmishta Roy and Karan Johar built the sets and designed the costumes, respectively. The duo Jatin–Lalit composed its music while Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics.

Mohabbatein was released on 27 October 2000. With a worldwide gross of ₹90 crore (US$20.03 million), the film emerged as a major commercial success at the box-office, ranking as the highest-grossing Indian film of the year. The film received four Filmfare Awards, three Bollywood Movie Awards, four International Indian Film Academy Awards, one Screen Award, five Sansui Viewers' Choice Movie Awards, and two Zee Cine Awards.

Plot

[edit]

Narayan Shankar has been the principal of Gurukul, a prestigious boys' school, for 25 years. He is a firm believer of tradition, honour and discipline and is especially intolerant of anybody who falls in love, threatening to expel any boy who does so. Music teacher, Raj Aryan, enters the college and is offered the job. In contrast to Narayan, Raj believes in love and tries to encourage the students do so.

In order to help the students win over their loves, Raj slowly starts bringing in changes to Gurukul. When Narayan threatens to dismiss Raj, the latter reveals that he is in fact Raj Malhotra, a former Gurukul student whom had fallen in love with Narayan's only daughter, Megha. When Megha revealed this to Narayan, he expelled Raj without even meeting him; distraught, Megha committed suicide. Raj had returned to Gurukul, hoping to reverse Narayan's anti-romantic policies. Narayan agrees to keep Raj, determined to prove his intolerance of love.

At the backdrop of this are three boys named Sameer, Vicky and Karan. Sameer is in love with his childhood friend, Sanjana who has since moved to the town where Sameer is now studying. Vicky falls in love with Ishika, a girl from the neighboring college. Karan falls in love with Kiran, a widowed woman, who he spots one night at the station.

Sameer and Sanjana's story

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When Sameer and Sanjana reunite, Sameer realises he is in love with her and decides to pluck up the courage to tell her. However, he is heartbroken to discover that she is now in a relationship with Deepak. He decides to forget her. However, some months later, at a pool party where Sameer is working as a waiter, Deepak throws Sanjana into the pool, deeply upsetting her. Sameer helps her out, and Sanjana finally realises that she loves Sameer and decides to go with him over Deepak.

Vicky and Ishika's story

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Vicky regularly harasses Ishika, much to the latter's dismay. Initially, Ishika detests Vicky, slapping him on their first date. However, when the two are partnered up in a dance competition, by Raj and Miss Monica, Ishika's college's headmistress, Ishika too realises she is falling for Vicky.

Karan and Kiran's story

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Karan initially meets Kiran in person at her hospital where he learns she is married. He learns from Khan Baba that Kiran lives with her father-in-law, Major Khanna, a retired army officer and that her husband went missing at the border; Major Khanna does not believe his son to be dead. With Raj's help, Karan gets a job as a piano teacher for Kiran's nephew; though Kiran realises Karan's true intentions, she too reciprocates his love.

Narayan Shankar Retaliates

[edit]

Narayan realises that Vicky, Sameer and Karan have been breaking the rules by leaving Gurukul after hours to be with their love interests. In response to this, he tightens the rules for the entire student body, promising to expel anybody he catches going against these.

However, with encouragement from Raj, the students continue to break the rules. Narayan blames this on Sameer, Vicky and Karan, viewing their actions as the catalyst, and decides to expel them. Raj, feeling guilty for them, admits that Narayan was right all along, begging him not to expel the boys who were simply acting upon Raj's guidance. Narayan agrees, though orders Raj to tell the student body that he had misguided them, before leaving Gurukul forever. Raj reluctantly agrees, but informs Narayan that he believes that Narayan lost the battle, in causing his own daughter's death and having Raj, who considered Narayan an elder, to leave.

Narayan Shankar steps down

[edit]

Reflecting on Raj's words, Narayan openly apologies to the student body the following morning. He brings Raj up to the front of the assembly and asks him to take over as principal and spread his beliefs of love in each student. Raj agrees and reconciles with Narayan. Under Raj's leadership, the culture of Gurukul changes for the better.

Cast

[edit]

The cast is listed below:-[5][6]

  • Amitabh Bachchan as Narayan Shankar, the Principal of Gurukul
  • Shah Rukh Khan as Raj Aryan Malhotra, Megha's love interest and music teacher at Gurukul
  • Aishwarya Rai as Megha Shankar, Narayan's daughter and Raj's love interest
  • Uday Chopra as Vikram “Vicky” Kapoor, Ishika's love interest and a student at Gurukul
  • Jugal Hansraj as Sameer Sharma, Sanjana's love interest and a student at Gurukul
  • Jimmy Sheirgill as Karan Choudhry, Kiran's love interest and a student at Gurukul
  • Shamita Shetty as Ishika “Ishq” Dhanrajgir, Vicky's love interest
  • Kim Sharma as Sanjana “Sanju” Paul, Sameer's love interest
  • Preeti Jhangiani as Kiran Khanna, Karan's love interest and Major General Khanna's daughter-in-law
  • Amrish Puri as Major General Khanna, Kiran's father-in-law (special appearance)
  • Shefali Shah as Nandini Khanna, Kiran's sister-in-law (special appearance)
  • Anupam Kher as Kakke
  • Archana Puran Singh as Preeto
  • Helen as Miss Monica (special appearance)
  • Parzan Dastur as Ayush Khanna, Kiran's nephew
  • Saurabh Shukla as Tom Paul, Sanjana's father (special appearance)
  • Ram Mohan as Khan Baba
  • Meghna Patel as Aanchal, Ishika's friend
  • Sindhu Tolani as Malini, Ishika's friend
  • Raman Lamba as Deepak Singhania, Sanjana's boyfriend
  • Rushad Rana as Rushad, a student of Gurukul

Production

[edit]

Before the production of the romantic drama Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)—one of the highest-grossing films and the longest-running film in Indian cinema history—Aditya Chopra had started to write Mohabbatein to make his directorial debut.[7] Chopra felt Mohabbatein's subject matter was too mature, making Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge his first film as a director and Mohabbatein his second.[8][9] Wanting his next film to have different themes, he conceived Mohabbatein as a thriller but changed his mind and decided to make another romantic film. He stated, "I realized that there is something in that story that keeps drawing me to it, so one day I just shut my thriller file and casually picked up my [...] Mohabbatein file—that one simple action decided my second film for me".[10]

Chopra started to write Mohabbatein after the release of Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) — he wanted it to be about more than just romantic stories.[10] According to the Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema, the film was inspired by the 1989 American coming-of-age drama Dead Poets Society.[11] Chopra then narrated Mohabbatein to his father Yash Chopra, who was impressed by it; the latter also produced the film under his banner Yash Raj Films. In a Screen interview, Yash Chopra described it as "a modern film, a film about today and it has all the ingredients of entertainment for people of all ages".[8] He said the film shows the honour of Indian traditions and their values, adding, "On the whole Aditya has made an honest film, honest to God and honest to the audience who has given us so much".[8]

The project was announced in June 1999 on Yash Raj Films' website.[12] Chopra told his father he would cast Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles, saying he could not think of other suitable actors; the three immediately accepted.[8] Mohabbatein is Khan's second collaboration with Rai after the romantic action film Josh (2000), and the first with Bachchan.[13][14] Kajol was the first choice for the role of Megha, but she declined it because of her marriage.[15] Bachchan, playing Narayan, felt the part was his best role after the action crime film Deewaar (1975), and said he only accepted the part because of "the fantastic script" by Aditya Chopra, whom he called "the little boy".[8]

"It was not easy at all but I wanted faces which were not seen every Friday. I wanted fresh faces, talented faces, naturally young faces, basically youngsters who would be willing to learn, faces who could understand the truth about what this thing they called Mohabbatein was all about and more than any thing else I wanted them to understand every minute detail of the script as conceived by me."

 —Aditya Chopra on the film's casting[8]

To complete the casting, Chopra sought six new actors; three male and three female. Aditya's brother Uday Chopra wanted to make his acting debut in the film; Aditya Chopra and his assistants travelled across India to find the other five newcomers; he cast Shamita Shetty, Jugal Hansraj, Kim Sharma, Jimmy Sheirgill, and Preeti Jhangiani. A gymnasium was built specifically for their training before filming began.[8] Amrish Puri, Shefali Shah, and Helen made special appearances.[5] Aditya Chopra also wrote the film's dialogue.[16]

The Longleat house was shot in England as the Gurukul School

The principal photography of Mohabbatein was handled by Manmohan Singh and commenced on 25 October 1999, taking place in the United Kingdom.[17][18] Karan Johar designed the costumes for Bachchan and Khan while Manish Malhotra designed them for Rai.[8] Farah Khan was the choreographer.[16] Sharmishta Roy, a frequent collaborator with Yash Raj Films, served as the art director.[5] When asked by Shilpa Bharatan-Iyer of Rediff.com, Roy described the film as a "learning experience"; she used many stones for Narayan's office sets and went to Lohar Chawl to buy several additional properties. Roy said she had a good rapport with Aditya Chopra and that the film's production gave her many challenges; "Look, every day, I put up houses. The challenge is in "individualising", in "personalising" each house to suit the script and the characters in the narrative."[19] Roy designed 13 or 14 sets for the film.[19] Filming ended between August and September 2000;[20] it was edited by V. Karnik, and Anuj Mathur and Kunal Mehta were the film's sound designers.[5][16]

Music

[edit]
Main article: Mohabbatein (soundtrack)

The duo Jatin–Lalit composed Mohabbatein's soundtrack and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi.[21] The vocals were performed by the debutantes Ishaan (for Shergill), Manohar Shetty (for Hansraj), Pritha Mazumdar (for Shetty), Shweta Pandit (for Sharma), Sonali Bhatawdekar (for Jhangiani), and Udhbhav (for Chopra). Lalit told Rediff.com he thought it was "a good idea to have fresh voices for the newcomers so that it also helps the album sound fresh", and said he and Jatin experienced difficulty while suiting their voices. Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, and Jaspinder Narula supplied vocals for Rai, Khan and Puran Singh, respectively.[22]

The film's soundtrack album has seven original songs and two background scores, and was released on 21 January 2000 by Saregama, which acquired the music rights for ₹75 million (US$1.67 million).[23] Critical response to the soundtrack of Mohabbatein was mixed,[24] but the album became the highest-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year, with sales of over 5 million units.[25] Jatin–Lalit received a nomination for the Best Music Director at the 46th Filmfare Awards,[26] and were also nominated in the same category at the Bollywood Movie Awards, IIFA Awards and Screen Awards.[27][28]

Release

[edit]

Mohabbatein was one of the most anticipated films of the year and the audience's expectations were high.[29] On 8 October 2000, a special screening for the film in Film City was organized with Aditya Chopra, Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan, and Johar in attendance.[30] The film was released theatrically on 27 October during the Diwali celebrations; its release clashed with those of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's thriller Mission Kashmir and K. S. Ravikumar's comedy-drama Thenali.[29] Due to its lengthy running time, theatres screened three shows daily rather than four.[1]

Reception

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Box office

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Mohabbatein was opened on 315 screens across India and grossed ₹11.9 million (US$264,796.92) on the first day. The film collected ₹706.2 million (US$15.71 million) in India and $4.2 million overseas.[4] Box Office India estimated the film's total gross to be ₹900.1 million (US$20.03 million), making it the highest-grossing Indian film of the year.[4][31] It ran at theatres for over 175 days, becoming a silver jubilee film.[32][a] Mohabbatein was released on DVD in a double-disc pack on 20 November in all regions. The broadcast rights of the movie were acquired to Sony Network. It has been available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ since 18 November 2016.[35]

Critical response

[edit]

Savera R. Someshwar of Rediff.com commented the film "is a mish-mash alright. But it is also a successful, feel-good film." She described both actors as "the two pillars on which this film is built and each time they come face-to-face, there is this expectant hush."[36] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 4 stars out of 5, praising Aditya Chopra for handling the confrontation sequences between the two "with aplomb". He added the director "is at his best", saying, "Not once do you feel that the writer in Chopra has tilted on any one side".[37] Vinayak Chakravorty of the Hindustan Times concluded, "Clearly, Aditya Chopra faces a downhill task this time around. Shorn of a solid script, bereft of impressive treatment and lacking any directorial credibility to hold his [...] mega dream [...] Mohabbatein is a veritable lesson to any budding filmmaker on how not to make a film".[38] Zee Next's Vinaya Hagde gave a scathing review of the film, calling it "dumb", and saying Kher and Singh were "totally wasted".[39]

Reviewing Mohabbatein for The Hindu, Savitha Padmanabhan criticized the film's duration and the way the confrontation sequences between Bachchan and Khan "are always interrupted by the love stories of the teenyboppers"[40] but Filmfare's anonymous reviewer appreciated them for "[excelling] in their respective roles". Nikhat Kazmi called the film the "inglorious uncertainties of cinema" and Khalid Mohamed wrote, "Back in the romantic mode, Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein is indeed like a rich, multi-layered, vibgyor cake. But frankly, only a few slices tickle the taste-buds."[24] Suman Tarafdar from Filmfare said most of the cast members "look so unconvinced about their roles and perform accordingly".[16] Screen said Aditya Chopra's "untiring efforts are visible in every frame and his mastery over screenplay is evident throughout the first half".[41] Comparing the film with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in his review for India Today, Dinesh Raheja said Mohabbatein "has too many diverse strands and in a bid to avoid getting knotted up in them", and considered the story is "disappointingly pat and oversimplified".[42]

Accolades

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Main article: List of accolades received by Mohabbatein

Notes

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  1. ^ A silver jubilee film is one that completes a theatrical run of 25 weeks or 175 days.[33][34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Nahta, Komal (8 November 2000). "Mohabbatein wins, Mission Kashmir loses". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2003. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  2. ^ Aiyar, Shankkar; Unnithan, Sandeep (10 July 2000). "Bollywood goes global, powered by diaspora dollar". India Today. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Mohabbatein (2000)".
  4. ^ a b c "Mohabbatein". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mohabbatein Cast & Crew". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 16 February 2006. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Mohabbatein Cast". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Print and the personalities". The Hindu. 14 November 2003. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h John, Ali Peter (20 October 2000). "Mohabbatein: Lets all believe in Love, Please". Screen. Archived from the original on 2 July 2002. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  9. ^ Chopra, Anupama (December 2002). Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. British Film Institute. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-85170-957-4.
  10. ^ a b "Aditya Chopra speaks". Yash Raj Films. Archived from the original on 18 October 2000. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. ^ Nihalani, Govind; Gulzar; Chatterjee, Saibal (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 438. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.
  12. ^ Deosthalee, Deepa (29 June 1999). "'Hits' before they're released". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Back to the future". The Times of India. 31 August 1999. Archived from the original on 27 April 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  14. ^ Somaaya, Bhawana (17 November 2000). "Breakaway from stereotypes". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  15. ^ "The king is in his counting house, counting all his money. The queen is in her parlour eating bread and water". The Times of India. 18 July 1999. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  16. ^ a b c d Tarafdar, Suman (October 2000). "Mohabbatein". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 9 November 2001. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  17. ^ Somaaya, Bhawana (18 October 1999). "Three decades of triumphs". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 April 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  18. ^ Bharadwaj, Priyanka (19 May 2006). "Foreign shoots spread Bollywood's reach". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  19. ^ a b Bharatan-Iyer, Shilpa (4 November 2000). "'I'd love working with any director who dares me to be different". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  20. ^ Suggu, Kanchana (29 March 2000). "'I've not come here looking for fame'". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Mohabbatein (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  22. ^ Tandon, Runima Borah (21 October 2000). "Mohabbatein: At sixes!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  23. ^ Aiyar, V. Shankar (6 November 2000). "Happy endings". India Today. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Critics' Ratings: Mohabbatein". Filmfare. 2000. Archived from the original on 11 February 2001. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Music Hits 2000–2009 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  26. ^ Dhirad, Sandeep (2006). "Filmfare Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Filmfare. pp. 107–109. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Winners of the Bollywood Awards 2001". Bollywood Movie Awards. Archived from the original on 7 April 2002. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Screen Videocon Awards 2000". Screen. Archived from the original on 19 February 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  29. ^ a b Kamath, Sudhish (28 October 2000). "Sparks fly on Deepavali". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  30. ^ "Private screening of Mohabbatein held at Adlabs". Bollywood Hungama. 11 October 2000. Archived from the original on 13 December 2000. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  31. ^ "Top Worldwide Grossers 2000". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  32. ^ Bhattacharya, Roshmilla (25 May 2001). "The young and the restless". Screen. Archived from the original on 23 August 2003. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  33. ^ Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (29 December 2014). "Disappointing year for Telugu film industry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  34. ^ Salam, Ziya Us (25 September 2011). "Life after The End". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  35. ^ "Mohabbatein (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  36. ^ Someshwar, Savera R. (27 October 2000). "Feel good with the hankies!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  37. ^ Adarsh, Taran (27 October 2000). "Movie Review: Mohabbatein". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  38. ^ Chakravorty, Vinayak (2000). "Bollywood: Mohabbatein". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2000. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  39. ^ Hagde, Vinaya (2000). "Some love stories are... a bore for ever". Zee Next. Archived from the original on 9 March 2001. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  40. ^ Padmanabhan, Savitha (3 November 2000). "Film Review: Mohabbatein". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  41. ^ "Breezy, romantic fare". Screen. 3 November 2000. Archived from the original on 20 August 2001. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  42. ^ Raheja, Dinesh (2000). "Mohabbatein — Maple Syrup". India Today. Archived from the original on 17 April 2001. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
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