Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai

The new year 2000 is almost over and looking back at the year on the Hindi film industry - it hasn't been hot at all. Only 1 Superhit so far, way back in January! The year will be remembered of course for the debut of an actor named Hrithik Roshan who was a nationwide phenomenon in India. And in a nation of 1 billion people - that is a HUGE phenomenon.

It was a case of a great looking guy who entertained people - good promotional advertising on the producers part and partly due to the dismal performance of the Khans' films that Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai did that well. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is leagues better and it would be criminal to compare this film to DDLJ (ah...the shudder of perfection). It's not that good.

The plot is simple and nothing we haven't seen before folks.

On vacation in New Zealand, an emotionally upset Sonia laments over the loss of her boyfriend Rohit; rich girl, poor boy scenario. But there is something familiar about the yuppie rich kid Raj, whom she meets at a dance club - an excellent scene made only more powerful by Lucky Ali's music track. A fast pace and 2 plot twists keep the movie highly entertaining and above average fare. The film is a bit of a thriller but mainly an entertainer, and I'm happy it does it's job here. Love stories don't always need a moral - we just want to have a good time. ( No, I won't call 'Believe in Love' a moral)

Director Rakesh Roshan manages to showcase all of his son's talents in this film: body build, dancing moves, a range of emotions and a knack for acting - something most actors in the industry today, lack.

Amisha Patel isn't given a lot to do here and thankfully does it well. She is very easy on the eyes - but of course! This is of course Hrithik's movie - the one that shot him into the the pre-adolescent hearts of every girl in the country, and their mothers too! He's under the spotlight 24/7 and a role model to many adolescent boys.

Hrithik's made a great first impression, but in an industry as whimsical as ours where you're only as good as your next movie he needs to diversify his roles (if that's possible in our industry) and keep the hits coming. I've got my fingers crossed for this guy - please don't be a one hit wonder.

Catchy songs, great dancing, beautiful locations, decent story with a touch of "Vertigo (1958)" and the debut of Hrithik Roshan, Bollywood's (Hollywood's?) next superstar. Not to be missed if you are into commercial Indian films, if not, worth a try anyway. Attention! This movie can be addictive. Consume with moderation, now that the DVD is out. :-)

Rohit(hrithik) dreams to become a famous singer and works as a car salesman for living. He falls in love with sonia(amisha patel). Rohit delivers a car for her birthday. Then he also attracts his boss's son atul by singing in sonia's birthday party. Impressed with rohit, atul signs him to sing in a cruise where sonia also comes. Rohit and sonia get separated from the ship and land in a deserted island. Both of them confess their love towards each other. When sonia's father saxena(anupam kher) finds them, he tries to separate them but realises rohit's sincerity and gives him a chance to become independent. When rohit gets a chance to perform a live musical show, he gets murdered by inspector kadam and shinde as he was a witness of the commissioner's murder. Rohit's body gets missing and Sonia is left depressed. Saxena sends her to new zealand with his brother. There she meets rohits lookalike raj. Raj is a rich NRI and has never come to India. He falls in love with sonia but sonia gets more disturbed seeing raj. When raj knows about Rohit, he is first hurt but then goes to India for sonia. There he gets attacked by kadam and then both sonia and raj realise there is some foul play regarding rohit's death. Rest of the movie is how raj and sonia find rohit's killer.

In his debut, hrithik owes the film. Its his show all over. He brilliantly portrayed different characters of raj and rohit brilliantly. As rohit, he is handsome and charming on the other hand is classy and stylish as raj. Another highlight is rajesh roshan's chartbuster music. The songs along with hrithik's dance were a treat to watch. Amisha gets completely overshadowed. Story has nothing new to offer, script is average and climax is typical hero saving kidnapped heroine.

On the while knph is most remembered for hrithik roshan's performance and songs.

A great fun movie. The story line is not exactly original, but the direction, editing and choreography more than make up for it. Newcomers Hritik and Ameesha look great. The movie is fast paced and sustains interest throughout. And Hritik really is the biggest draw. He is hunky, dances well and can act too. Just the right stuff for a Hollywood star.

If you know how to suspend disbelief, you will enjoy this movie. It was my first Hindi movie and I saw it in India. It was GREAT!! I don't normally enjoy musicals, but this was an exception. The singing & dancing were terrific. The title song is a big hit in India. The movie didn't look much like the India I saw, but the cinematography was excellent, and the sound was Dolby Digital (Indians like their movies loud). I could follow the storyline even though I understand no Hindi. It helped that there was a smattering of english throughout the movie. I can't wait to see it again with subtitles. Apparently most Indian movies have the same plot, singing, and dancing, so if you have seen a lot of these movies, it may not excite you like it did me, but I thought it was a well made (slick comes to mind), well acted, and a well produced piece of "Bollywood". The producer introduced his son with this picture, and he has become the heartthrob of India. I'm not good at analyzing movies so I'll finish by just saying, I came out of the theater with a smile on my face, and a tune in my head. This movie was FUN!