Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha

Pyar To Hona Hi Tha (love had to blossom anyway) starts with the journey of Sanjana (Kajol) from abroad (Peris perhaps) to Delhi in search of her fiancé Rahul (Bijoy Anand) who has fallen in love with a rich girl Nisha (Kashmira Shah) and deserted her for that. She comes across Shekhar (Ajay Devgan) during the plane journey and then they cross paths quite frequently and Sanjana finds herself landing in the hometown of Shekhar which is a small village in Punjab named as Shaamla Kot. She has already understood that Shekhar is a thief but after meeting Shekhar's family, she comes to know the reason behind his becoming a thief. Shekhar commits to her that he will bring her fiancé back to her but as we know, in the exercise aiming at bringing the heroine's fiancé back to her, the heroine comes to understand that it's the hero who deserves to be her beau and not her greedy fiancé. The hero is already in love with her within his heart and he also comes to know of her love for him before the movie ends. Arre Bhai, it's a Hindi movie in which love had to blossom anyway between the leading gentleman and the leading lady (Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha).

The movie boasts of a highly entertaining first half which is full of comic moments demonstrating that Kajol is proficient in not only profound roles but also comedy. Her comic timing is amazing. Ajay Devgan has done the dual duty of making the audience laugh as well as making it feel his hidden emotion and stuffiness through his wonderful underplay. The activities involving the interactions of Om Puri playing the cop chasing the hero and Shekhar are quite hilarious and sensational (especially the sequence in which Shekhar allows his vehicle to run into a running train to get rid of the chasing cops). The activities of a petty thief (Mushtaaq Khan) and the receptionist of a hotel (Adi Irani) also entertain the audience very much.

In the village also, though the movie gets a bit sentimental when the facts pertaining to the hero's family come out before the audience on a layer-by-layer basis; there is no dearth of amusement and entertainment. The hero's interaction with a barber and his losing his mustache are no less than a laugh riot for the viewers.The happenings in the hero's home contain the engagement ceremony of the hero's sister also where a beautiful engagement song takes place. The interval comes at the most appropriate point, generating curiosity in the audience for the second half of the movie.

However in the second half, the movie dips and it does not remain so entertaining as it has been in the first half. The cinematic liberties taken in the first half are ignored by the audience because the entertainment rendered does now allow to take any notice of them. However in the second half, the artificiality of the things shown glares straight into the viewer's eyes. Gradually the viewer gets bored and, naturally, starts looking at his watch to check how far is the inevitable, i.e., the union of the hero and the heroine so that the movie may end. All the same, the overall impact of the movie on the audience remains positive only.

Writer-director Anees Bazmee has skilfully used the story available with him (borrowed from French Kiss) alongwith the real life romantic relationship of the lead pair to make an entertaining movie. He falters in the post interval session but in the end, it turns out to be a paisa-vasool movie which nobody regrets after watching.

Dialogs are good and apt for the script. Ajay Devgan's pet dialog - Aisa Hi Hoon Main (I am built that way only) is very impressive and amusing especially because Ajay delivers it in a peculiar way which is in sync with his character in the movie.

Jatin Lalit have prepared good music for the movie. Engagement song - Aaj Hai Sagaai, Sunn Ladki Ke Bhai is the best song of the album. Its choreography is also wonderful. Next is Jab Kisi Ki Taraf Dil Jhukne Lage sung by Kumar Saanu. Other songs (including the title track) are also nice to listen as well as to watch on the screen.

The movie boasts of high production value. The locations of both India and abroad have been shown very beautifully, making the movie a visual treat for the audience. Technically it's admirable but the length of the movie is just too much and should have been less.

Real life lovers Ajay and Kajol have done wonderfully here, showing different colours of their acting talent. Their real love must have helped them in performing. After Gupt (1997) Om Puri again brilliantly presents the character of a cop who means business but amuses through his activities all the same. The complete supporting cast has done well. However Bijoy Anand and Kashmira Shah are over the top and unnatural. Perhaps they are the victims of their poorly crafted roles.

Pyar To Hona Hi Tha is an entertaining movie. Hence I unconditionally recommend it to the entertainment seekers. Overall it's a one time watch. However the first half can be watched many times also.

Kajol is the only face in this movie... Thought the movie is highly predictable and even contains some loose plots. But the charm of Kajol amused us. Yes there are some funny slap scenes in the starting where Kajol slaps Shekhar on the plane. Yet she entertains. Her comic appearance in most of the scenes is incredible. Though the original one differs, as in the original one Megh Ryan leaves her boy friend in a friendly manner. But in the Hindi version Kajol in great fury gives thunderous tight slaps to her ex when she gets him back from an another girl of his. Later on she unites with her real life lover. Great movie and Kajol rocks in everyone scene because it's the only movie where she dominates over the lovers.

Unoriginal, unconvincing, messy, lacklustre - this film is all of these and more and watching it is really quite uninspiring. The film mostly rests on all the possible cliches of Hindi films and romantic films in general, and every coming move is easy to predict. Technically it is even worse, the subbing is very amateurish, with so many moments where the dialogue does not match the sound making viewers consistently conscious of this persistent flaw. The only saving grace in this film is Kajol - that too, in parts. She starts really well but grows on you as the story progresses. It is obviously not among her best anyway. The music is so-so, with only "Ajnabee" working for me. Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha doesn't work, it's copied, highly predictable, and just lacking in heart.

Anees Bazmee is one of Bollywood's terrible directors. Unfortunately, his even remotely watchable movies are ripoffs. Such is the case with 'Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha' which pretty much replicates every single frame of the delightful romantic comedy 'French Kiss'. It's funny how Bazmee managed to make the Indian and Swiss landscape look like the ones in 'French Kiss's France. The Bollywoodish additions, such as the hostage sequence, the comedy and the dragged out ending are dreadfully cheesy and give the movie a B-grade quality.

Jatin Lalit's music is pleasant to the ears. Most of the songs are visualized well but some of the tunes are ripped off from American songs. The sad version of the title song is snooze inducing. The title song during the opening credits and the two Asha Bhosle-Udit Narayan tracks are the best of the lot.

Where performances are concerned, Ajay Devgan does a decent job. Kajol is superb in most of the movie. One particular scene that stood out to me was when, at Nisha's party, a tipsy Sanjana expresses her defeat to Shekhar with a sad smile and her eyes filling up with tears. She does tend to go a bit over the top with the quirkiness and comedy (unlike Meg Ryan who does it more naturally). Om Puri lacks the slickness that Jean Reno brought to the character. Kashmira Shah is wonderful.

The execution is quite amateurish as Bazmee merely copies Lawrence Kasdan's film. The editing is quite abysmal and what the hell was Bazmee thinking in including the atrocious action sequences? The cinematography in the song sequences is adequate.

That's about it. 'Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha' is just another lousy ripoff on a tall pile of Bollywood's unauthorized miserable remakes.

A very nice remake of 'French Kiss' for Indian Audiences. Excellent on screen chemistry between the leads, real life lovers Kajol and Ajay Devgan who were married later that year A romantic soundtrack only added to the films' impending success. It would have swept the awards if not for another film called 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.

Ajay Devgan plays Shekhar a small time crook who's only helping Sanjana (Kajol) at first because he's trying to steal back an item she accidently picked up from him. In the end he tries to help her win back her crooked fiance who is having an affair with someone else. Wouldn't you know it, the kids fall in love. Great visuals, songs and comedy make it a treat though.

Character development is somewhat weak - Shekhar stealing because he needs the money for a family member's operation. Om Puri does an excellent job providing comic relief at times as a cashew chewing cop hot on Shekhar's trail.

Mentionable Scenes: Hostage Situation in the mall and the climax.