Betaab

Hindi film viewer's from late 80s to early 2000s were used to staple of films starring Sunny Deol, were he portrayed numerous roles of angry young man fighting against the establishment/corrupt businesses which were lapped by the masses. Before becoming an action star with films like Arjun, Dacait & Ghayal, Sunny Deol acted in number of romantic films with Betaab being his debut film along with Amrita Singh. The plot of the film is simple and is the one that we see in majority of romantic films of its time. The film's highlight are it's scenery, melodious songs and earnest performance from all its actors (including strong performance fron its debut pair) and the director (Rahul Rawail) with this film had mastered the art of making Romantic films (with Love Story being another trend setter).

On the whole this a must watch for the fans of Sunny Deol and for the one's who would like to see him in a different role then Betaab tops the list.

Rahul Rawail's Betaab is memorable and wholesome entertainment. It is a love story involving a young poor, simple and humorous guy named Sunny and a spoilt, bratty rich girl called Roma. Sunny is a hard-working guy who owns a farm-house in a small rural town with his mother; Roma lives in a big mansion, and when her father buys another expansive estate, which happens to be near Sunny's farm, she eagerly rushes to check their new property. That's how they meet, and that's how begins their hate-turns-to-love romance. Little do they know that they were actually once childhood friends, and their parents maintained a close friendship until Sunny's dad went bankrupt and the families fell apart (a very stupid reason, indeed). The story takes more shape as Roma's father disapproves of their relationship. While the romantic portions are indeed the main highlight in the story, successfully resting on the youthful and refreshing presence of the two leads, the film has this persistent touch of authenticity that makes everything easy to get involved in.

Beautifully portrayed and filmed, Betaab is benefitted from breathtaking locations and extraordinary, timeless songs composed by R. D. Burman. Songs like "Jab Hum Jawan Hoge", "Apne Dil Se Badi" and "Badal Yun" are unforgettable. Where acting goes, Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh, both highly appealing, perform convincingly in their debut roles, and Shammi Kapoor and Nirupa Roy provide great support. Deol in particular is outstanding in his natural simplicity and easygoing sophistication. Betaab is a charming love story which has comedy, drama and action, and many sequences in it were enjoyable and quite fun to watch while there were also several touching moments. I might not have liked everything about this film, but I loved it for its engaging simplicity and for capturing so well the calm beauty of the rural parts of India, achieved through the tremendous setting of Sunny's farm, and efficiently aided by the many different and lovely animals, including his livestock and especially his cute pet dog. This is a heartwarming film and according to me one of the better Hindi love stories of the 1980s.

"Betaab" is one of those early 80s Hindi romances that looks very simple on the surface, yet is full of emotional and social tensions once you sit with it. Set against the breathtaking landscapes of Kashmir, the film follows Sunny Kapoor, a once-privileged young man now living modestly on a farm, and Roma Singh, a rich, spoilt heiress whose temper is as quick as her tongue. When these former childhood companions collide again as adults, the story becomes a mixture of romantic comedy, class conflict and family guilt, with nature itself acting as a silent witness to their transformation.

The plot is straightforward but effective. Sunny lives with his mother in a valley, raising poultry and trying to build a life from the ruins of his father's financial ruin and suicide. He carries the invisible wound of having watched the so-called "friends" of his father abandon the family in their darkest moment. Into this world enters Sardar Dinesh Singh, a wealthy businessman, and his daughter Roma, who come to the valley for a holiday. Roma and Sunny were childhood playmates, but the years have turned Roma into a pampered, high-maintenance rich girl, and Sunny into a proud, rough-edged but emotionally grounded young man. Their first encounters are pure friction: she looks down on him as an uncouth farm boy, and he delights in teasing and provoking her, needling her short fuse with playful, slightly mischievous "small small" acts of mockery.

What begins as mutual irritation slowly shifts when Roma realises this annoying young man is actually the same Sunny she once adored as a child. The emotional axis of the film moves from comedy to nostalgia, then into genuine affection. They fall in love not in a single big moment, but through repeated clashes that expose their vulnerabilities. At the same time, we learn that Roma's father is the very man who betrayed Sunny's father during his financial collapse. This buried history turns the romance into a quiet battlefield of old guilt and new hope. When Roma openly chooses Sunny, her father reacts with outrage and snobbery, using money, power and intimidation to break the relationship. The film's conflict becomes a tug-of-war between two forms of pride: Sunny's insistence on dignity despite poverty, and Sardar's obsessive need to maintain social status and "respectability".

Sunny Deol's Sunny is a very specific type of romantic hero. He is physically strong and impulsive, but not cruel; he loves to poke at Roma's ego, to tease her with jokes, pranks and verbal sparring, yet there is a clear boundary he does not cross. His teasing is never meant to humiliate her; instead it slowly pulls her away from her spoiled bubble and forces her to engage with him as a real person. He is also marked by a firm sense of self-respect. Even though he could theoretically gain wealth by pleasing Roma's father, he refuses to become a grateful "charity case". That stubbornness gives the character weight and prevents the film from becoming a pure fairy tale.

Roma, played with a mix of fire and softness, is the classic rich girl with a hair-trigger temper. She is easily offended, extremely proud, and used to getting her way through anger or emotional drama. But the film shows that under the expensive clothes and tantrums, she is actually quite fragile and lonely. Her transformation is one of the pleasures of the story: she gradually moves from seeing Sunny as a nuisance beneath her status to recognising him as the only person who dares to talk back to her honestly. Her love for him also forces her to confront the moral failings of her own father. In a sense, the romance is not just a love story; it is Roma's journey from "protected child of privilege" to someone willing to stand against her own comfort zone.

Sardar Dinesh Singh, Roma's father, is less a cartoon villain and more a man crushed by his own ego. His earlier betrayal of Sunny's father is not shown as sheer evil, but as cowardice dressed up as business practicality. Now, years later, he clings to class and respectability as if they could erase his past choice. His opposition to the match is driven by both social anxiety and deep shame. This makes his eventual softening credible; he is not defeated by violence, but by the quiet persistence of Sunny's integrity and Roma's emotional conviction. Sunny's mother, on the other hand, provides a gentle counterpoint: a woman who has suffered but still carries grace, and who acts as a moral anchor for her son.

One charming detail is the presence of Sunny's dog, always hovering around him on the farm and in the valley. The dog works as both a visual softener and a symbol. It signals Sunny's capacity for care and loyalty and adds warmth to his rough exterior. In a film that deals with betrayal and class prejudice, an animal who loves purely and without social filters becomes an unspoken comment on who truly understands friendship and devotion.

Thematically, "Betaab" plays with several strands. First is the obvious class difference: the rich estate and the modest farm are almost like two worlds that happen to share one landscape. The film questions the obsession with "proper" background and status through Roma's father, who uses class as a justification for cruelty and rejection. Second is the theme of generational burden. Sunny must live with the shame of his father's financial collapse; Roma must wrestle with the moral failure of her father towards Sunny's family. Their love is a kind of attempt to repair the moral damage done by the previous generation. Third is the exploration of pride. Almost every central character is proud in their own way, but only some forms of pride are shown as healthy. Sunny's pride in his work and identity is ultimately rewarded; Sardar's pride in social position is gradually exposed as hollow.

Cinematography is one of the film's most lasting strengths. The Kashmir valley is shot with a romantic eye: rolling hills, sparkling rivers, clear skies, and open meadows where horses, lovers and the ever-present dog move freely. This natural beauty is not just decoration. It frames the romance as something pure and uncorrupted, in contrast to the closed drawing rooms where adults talk about deals, reputation and alliances. The wide, airy outdoor shots carry a sense of emotional possibility. At the same time, the film is very much of its era: the framing, lighting and song picturisation follow the 80s Hindi mainstream style, with some melodramatic close-ups and staged compositions that modern viewers may find dated. Yet there is an earnestness to it that fits the story's tone.

In evaluating "Betaab", its strengths are clear. The chemistry between the leads feels organic, especially in the early quarrel and teasing scenes. The character arcs for Sunny and Roma, while not psychologically complex by today's standards, are coherent and satisfying. The use of landscape and the integration of music into the narrative create a romantic mood that feels sincere rather than cynical. The supporting roles, from the dignified mother to the conflicted father, provide a solid emotional framework, and the inclusion of the dog is a simple but effective way to humanise Sunny further.

On the weaker side, the film leans heavily on melodramatic devices-big confrontations, sudden reversals, and some convenient changes of heart. The class conflict is painted in broad strokes; there is little nuance in how the broader society reacts, and most of the tension focuses on one family instead of a wider social system. Some modern viewers might also find Roma's early behaviour exaggerated and the "taming" of the spoilt rich girl a bit formulaic. There are moments where the narrative seems to pause for songs rather than fully integrate them into character development, though this is typical for its period.

From a neutral perspective, "Betaab" stands as a representative example of 80s Hindi romantic drama that still holds emotional power if you accept its conventions. It is not a subtle film, but it is honest in what it wants to do: tell a story about two people from different worlds, forced to confront the mistakes of the past and the biases of their class, and find a way to be together without losing their self-respect. The mountains, the horse rides, the stubborn boy, the volatile rich girl and the loyal dog together create a world that may feel old-fashioned, but also oddly comforting. As a complete package, "Betaab" remains a warm, slightly melodramatic, yet sincere portrayal of love tested by pride and class, and its emotional simplicity is precisely what makes it linger in memory.

"Betaab" was a big box office hit of 80s, which launched a new star in Bollywood, Sunny Deol. Well, story-wise, there is nothing new in this film. Heroine comes from a very affluent family and hero is poor. The rich father of the heroine declines their relationship and starts tormenting the hero. There are villains, a loyal maid, a loyal dog, and a final fight sequence after which the lovers meet and the villains are punished. Perhaps, you have seen the same story for hundreds of times in Hindi movies. But it still works in this film which is still entertaining and refreshing to watch. The stunts, music, good photography, and freshness of the stars still make it entertaining though not very memorable.

Rating: 2 stars out of 4

Review By Kamal K

Superbly made film. Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh are fantastic in their first film. Sunny Deol looks lovely and yet dynamic! His horse riding and horse stunts are amazing. Amrita looks beautiful Punjabi kudi.

Rahul Rawail is master in introducing new kids. Movie remains catchy and watchable throughout. Story is narrated in a very simple manner. Camera work is beautiful.

A must watch movie.