Top Ten Bollywood Love Stories Part 4
Bollywood’s Top Ten Love Stories of our Generation –
(Part 4: #4 and #3)
4) Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (KKHH) – 1998
I have placed KKHH in top 4. This could easily be the number three or two in the countdown (# 1 is a ‘locked-in’ as you would read later and I am sure agree) as with KKHH Director Karan Johar in his very first movie reminded the audiences that the greatest love stories ever told are those that wither the pain of loss and perseverance and are founded on faith. When I saw this movie in theater, I remember that every soul in the hall had teary eyes throught out the moments in the movie.
Watching the movie you can be assured that the climax would bring emotions out in you like no other movie has before. The movie is not a tragedy but it connects and that is the signature of a masterpiece. You will say to yourselves, ‘Man! Kuh Kuch Hota Hai…’
Movie opens with Rahul (ShahRukh) who has just lost his wife, Tina, due to childbirth. His daughter, Anjali and his mother is all he is left with. Tina has left eight letters for her daughter to read on every birthday. The eighth one is the most important. Anjali reads the letter and Tina discusses in the letter about his best friend, Anjali. There is an important task that Tina has asked her daughter to carry out. It’s up to Anjali to do it.
From the beginning, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a love triangle, story of Rahul and Anjali (Kajol) entangled with Rani Mukerji and Salman Khan along the way.
Jatin-Lalit though had created waves with scores of Joh Jeeta Wohi Sikandar in their early career and later with DDLJ but they got on my list of complete musicians with the score of KKHH. They created the catchy tunes and the sad ones with equal class. The sad climax number Tujhey yaad na meri aayee is a top one.
Each character in the movie is built with presence. Great chemistry between Shahrukh and Kajol that started in DDLJ graduated in KKHH and continued after this into later ventures such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham winning them many nominations and prizes.. Had they not stopped appearing together, they would have gotten the noble prize for Chemistry.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai swept all major film fair awards for the year including Best Actor, Actress and Best Supporting Actor and Actress along side the Best Picture, Director, Screenplay etc. This is the movie that made Karan Johar the star director and he never looked back.
3) Maine Piyar Kiya – 1989
Sooraj Barjatiya made his debut as a film maker with Maine Piyar Kiya. A film that cemented the emergence of romantic cinema as the most appreciated form of movie-making in Bollywood. Just like in early 80s when Love Story, Betaab and Rocky back to back brought young fresh faces to the industry, in the late 80s Qayamat se Qayamat Tak followed by Maine Piyar Kiya in back to back years became the perfect storm of love. A genre for Bollywood that till today has guaranteed success at box-office and has created massive following for cast members, music composers and directors.
As I mentioned in earlier post that 80s gave five mega stars and five mega love stories (listed above) Maine Piyar Kiya and Salman Khan very much make this list significant.
Maine Piyar Kiya is simply a movie very well made. Editing, screenplay, chemistry between all actors is simply perfect. It brought family bonds, camaraderie and traditions to centre stage once again and came like a whiff of fresh air when violence and vulgarity ruled the films. From the movie simplistic one liner like ‘Hota hai hota hai’, ‘Dosti mein no sorry no thanks’ and ‘abhi mood nahin hai’ became the most popular and cutest friendship lines among youngsters.
Bhagyashree’s Maine Piyar Kiya conquest fit the description of “she came, she smiled and she conquered”. Though she did not continue her career in Bollywood after this mega success, for one year in the deck of Romeos she was the ‘queen of hearts’. She portrayed the perfect next door girl. Her charm, dimpled smile, long hair and simple questions were adored by Hindi movie fans world wide (I have to admit that like many teenagers of the time, I had a crush as well:).
Music of Maine Piyar is by Ram Laxman who unlike other famous directors of Bollywood has only few mega credits to his name most famously the number ‘Didi tera dewar deewana’ from ‘Hum Aap ke hain kaun’. But it is with Maine Piyar Kiya Ram-Laxman got a bulls-eye. RAM Laxman got full support from the director who used the friendship cap, sun glasses and above all the years old messenger, a ‘Kabutar’. Very smart and candid and if it is done with heart-felt melodies, it is simply out of this world.
In our university days (89-91), I remember that in many of our band performances in various colleges and community functions, we will open the show playing themes music from Maine Piyar Kiya songs and often ‘Dil Deewana bin sajan ke’ and Always ‘Kabutar Ja Ja ‘ would get the crowd all claps and moving feet from the first strum.
Maine Pyar Kiya was the biggest hit of 1989 in India winning several awards including Best Film of the year. This remains one of the most successful Bollywood movies of the 1980s. It is an absolute family entertainer not to be missed. A movie that would make you want to become a teenager and fall in love again. It will make you say the tag-line one more time; ‘I luv you so much, it Hurts!’.
If you are curious to see which movies made the other eight slots, read all five ‘MUSICVIEWSIC blogs in this countdown. Read Part 5
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