Put a legend, an icon, a star, and six fresh buds waiting to bloom all in the same movie and what do you get? Mohabbatein. Sure, the story is the oft-repeated tale of forbidden love, unappreciated lovers and the traditions that gag and bind us, but the all-star cast, the skilled direction, and lively musical numbers all contribute to make this a movie worth noting.
The setting of Mohabbatein is the Gurukul School, an elite school housed in a cold, uninviting, castle-like edifice. Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) is the stern, disciplinarian and somewhat tyrannical headmaster of Gurukul who rules the school with an iron fist.
The story begins on a dark and quiet night at the local train stations where three young men, prospective students at the school, meet on the platform and set out on a journey that brings them closer together than they ever could have imagined. Vicky (Uday Chopra) is an athletic, energetic playboy type, seemingly unshaken by the harsh reality of the school. Sameer (Jugal Hansraj) is the timid and shy one with boyish charm and innocent looks. And Karan (Jimmy Shergill) completes the trio as the more mature, intense member of the pack.
The three lads are struck by cupid's arrow when they meet the three heroines; Vicky loses his heart to a rich and spoiled girl named Ishika (Shamita Shetty) while Sameer is reunited with his childhood buddy, the bubbly Sanjana (Kim Sharma) and Karan falls hard for the bashful widow, Kiran (Preeti Jhangiani).
As with every true-to-form Bollywood movie, their love stories are met with several obstacles, such as differences in class, no-good boyfriends, and familial obligations, but the most important hurdle in their path is none other than Narayan Shankar who is convinced that love is a pure waste of time. A glimmer of hope comes their way when a maverick music teacher, Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) sweeps into the picture and helps nurture their young loves. What follows is a battle of good and evil, love and hate, and sheer determination and conviction on both sides at the end of which
(well, let's not get carried away! Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy!).
