Customer Reviews

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is watchable only because of Hrithik Roshan. I wasn't surprised though. I was warned about this movie and Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai also starring Hrithik and Amisha was not worth buying. I purchased both anyway because I want to collect all Hrithik Roshan's movies, so it was not a regret or waste of money. Amisha Patel was not easy for me to watch. She was too young, lacked depth, and was a bad dancer. I didn't find her that attractive either. It seems like the extras and dancers were all better looking including the lady flirting with Hrithik on the cruise. It wasn't believable that Hrithik's charater Rohit would fall in love with her. If you have a good character and personality then looks doesn't matter but her character was a hot tempered spoiled brat which didn't help her looks. If this was my first Bollywood film, I would not have become a fan of Bollywood so don't let this be your first! If you have never seen a Bollywood film, there are so many great ones out there to watch first such as Kuch Naa Kaho, Jodhaa Akbar, Straight from the Heart, Devdas, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil Ka Rishta, Ashoka, and a great Hindi film "Black." Hrithik Roshan was great as always but Amisha Patel didn't deliver like the great female actors I usually watch, such as, Madhuri Dixit, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, and Karisma Kapoor to name a few.

This film was the first leading role for both Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel, and it catapulted both actors to Bollywood superstardom. Like many Hindi films, this one is a family project. It was written and directed by Hrithik's father, Rakesh Roshan, and the music was composed by Hrithik's uncle, Rajesh Roshan.

Hrithik plays Rohit, a happy-go-lucky orphan who. along with his younger brother, Amit, lives with an aunt and uncle. Amisha Patel plays Sonia, a sweet but spoiled rich girl. Sonia is accustomed to getting what she wants, and when she meets Rohit, he immediately becomes one of the things she wants. The action in the first part of the film contains a lot of the silly antics one might expect to find in a 1960's beach party movie. But then tragedy strikes, and the entire tone of the film changes.

This movie is in many ways a transitional Bollywood film. The first half is old style Bollywood, while the second half is new style. The music and cinematography after the intermission have a much more modern feel than the first half. The plot is a lot like that of Om Shanti Om, or perhaps it's the other way around, since Kano Naa Pyaar Hai predates Om Shanti Om by around seven years. The story is about karmic coincidences - things that seem to happen by chance, but are actually a part of a grand cosmic scheme, the design of which is to bring happiness and long life to the innocents (well, most of them, anyway) and justice to the wrongdoers.

This film is quite funny in places and extremely moving in others. The relationship between the two brothers is particularly touching. The songs are very good for the most part, and Farah Kahn's choreography is outstanding. This film also introduces one of Hrithik Roshan's signature dance moves. If you're a fan either of the stars this film is a must see.

Some movies stand the test of time, and some don't. 'Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai' was a box-office hit, generally liked by critics, and it cleaned up at the Filmfare Awards--Best Actor and Best Debut went to Hrithik Roshan and Best Movie and Best Director went to his father, veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. It's evident in this, his first film, that the junior Roshan, now a superstar, is a natural-born actor as he skillfully assumes a dual role and gives each of his characters distinct personalities. The movie itself is mildly entertaining, but a disappointment in retrospect, given its strong initial reception. Bollywood has changed so much in the last decade (for good or bad is a matter of debate for some) that it's amazing how dated a 10-year-old Hindi film can be.

Hrithik plays Rohit--a car salesman by day and a struggling musician by night. Rohit and his much younger brother Amit are orphans (although it's never explained what exactly happened to their parents) and they live with an older couple (it's never made clear if these two are related to the boys or merely renting a room to them). Rich daddy's girl Sonia Saxena is played by Amisha Patel, also in her film debut, but unlike Hrithik, she went on to have a middling career.

Sonia's father (Anupam Kher) buys her a car from Rohit, who delivers it to her personally. Rohit then crashes her birthday party and sings at it. They take a fancy to each other and go on a cruise together with all their friends. Sonia gets drunk on champagne, Rohit joins her, and they pass out in a lifeboat that breaks away from the cruise ship. They end up on a deserted island, but these goody-two-shoes don't fool around. Sonia's father suspects otherwise, however, and when he rescues the pair, he decides to keep them apart. Mr. Saxena is involved in some shady dealings, and when Rohit accidentally witnesses his associates shooting a police officer, the bad guys chase him down on his motorcycle and run him off a bridge. He drowns in the water below, but his body is never recovered.

Mr. Saxena sends the grieving Sonia to live with her uncle in New Zealand, and she meets Raj (also played by Hrithik), who looks exactly like Rohit (except Raj is edgier than her cloying first love). Raj pursues her, even though she literally runs away from him, haunted as she is by memories of Rohit. Raj follows her back to India, where Rohit's enemies target Raj, thinking they didn't finish the job the first time.

Raj does not turn out to be the amnesia-stricken Rohit or his long-lost twin, and kudos to the film for not going in either of those predictable directions. However, there's no explanation for why Raj is identical to Rohit. Even some symbolic reason would have sufficed, but none is given.

There's a lot going on in this movie, and plenty of high drama, and yet, it's not terribly engaging.

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When we first watch a new (to us) Indian film we just throw the disc in the player and watch the songs first. First impression was that the music and dancing were very good but the sound is produced on a synthesizer and it took a few minutes to warm up to it and realize it is really okay - perhaps great. There is typical Farah Khan choreography with beautiful dancers dancing beautifully. The "say you love me" song has real hooks. My only complaint with the music and dancing is that the big stage dance scene near the end was not well lit, "smoky" and could have been shot better to see the dancers more clearly.

It seems like there is always some kind of surprise in these Indian films and this time it is a clipper sailing (cruise) ship that is a sight to behold. A big dance scene happens on the deck of this truly magnificent boat. This boat looks like it is 300 ft long not counting the 50 ft long spar off the bow.

Amisha Patel's beauty, acting and dancing in the movie have been criticized but honestly she is quite good enough with Hrithik as a strong lead. If I were to downgrade this film it would be for the slightly more than brief violence, not Amisha. For overall entertainment quality I give this film a weak 5 for what it is, not for what it isn't.

This movie was only worth watching because of Hrithik Roshan--great talent. He has the ability to turn a horrible script into a semi-masterpiece, if given the right costar...which unfortunately was not the case here. His costar over-acted throughout the entire movie--she singlehandedly was able to kill whatever life Hrithik was able to give to the script. I saw her in 2 movies and that was two too many...the other was Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage, also with Hrithik Roshan...Unless you are a huge fan of his and feel the need to watch all his movies, don't bother with these two.