Mohabbatein

Okay, this film stars Bachchan and Khan in a film showing a sort of clash between the two over practically nothing. The two do really well. Khan is very, very good in this energetic but relatively subtle performance, and Bachchan is imperious and towering in his pride. The two work very well together. But besides that, you have a story which is not very convincing and worse, most of it centers on the young stars and starlets and their college romances, with Khan given the task of matching them all up together. Instead of focusing on the ideological differences between Khan and Bachchan, Aditya Chopra makes them the background through a great portion of the film, turning what could have been a good drama into something that resembles a very cliched and boring high-school romance. This entire track lacks credibility. Other than Khan and Bachchan, the film has a beautiful Aishwarya Rai in a short appearance, and it is very memorable today for its magic track "Humko Hamise Churalo", sung to perfection by the divine Lata Mangeshkar, who was, hold on to your seats, over 70 years old when singing it. Unbelievable. It's a pity the film doesn't live up to this level, and just ends up being really overlong, and for no justifiable reason.

Mohabattein was the first Hindi movie I ever saw. It was sent to me by a friend who is crazy for Shahrukh Khan.

My first impressions were, `WOW, this Shahrukh guy has a tremendous screen presence (but, yikes, what a profile!)' and `I love the old guy with the black hair and the white beard. He's too cool.' As for the movie itself, I wondered how in god's name anybody could enjoy that horrid cat-in-heat screeching which issued forth whenever that gorgeous young woman (Aishwarya Rai) opened her mouth to sing. And I found the interminable love stories of the three young couples to be boring, boring, boring. I spent all my time waiting for Mr. Aryan and Mr. Shankar to come back onscreen.

As for the story, I was completely out of sympathy for the silly idea that it's more important to spend your college years running around trees and going to dance parties with scantily clad girls than to be studying or going to prayer. As a westerner who has watched my own treasured Catholic traditions thrown overboard one by one for every goofy, modern idea that comes down the pike (clown Masses, anyone?) I was firmly on the side of Mr. Shankar: `I don't like change, Mr. Aryan!'

I've since learned that Amitabh Bachchan is like the Sean Connery of Indian cinema, and that Shahrukh Khan is known better for his manic, over-the-top performances than the quiet, mature act I saw in Mohabattein. (I cringe whenever he is referred to as `The Tom Cruise of India'…Tom Cruise can only wish he had Shahrukh's talent and screen presence. Sharhukh definitely would win that contest by a nose.)

But to be honest, I didn't like this movie much, and after seeing about 50 Hindi films since then, I still don't like it much. It has some great songs that are almost completely destroyed by the ancient, crackling voice of Lata Mangreshkar (sorry if I spelled it wrong), and I still can't sit through the endless love stories of the three young couples. ONE couple would have been plenty to get the point across, and it would have cut the movie by 45 minutes or so, which it badly needs.

As a person who grew up on the MGM musicals of the 40s and 50s, I have eagerly embraced Bollywood (but no kissing). And although I get bored pretty easily with the dancing around trees (it all starts to look the same), I just can't get enough of those Holi celebrations! Bring ‘em on.

Put a legend, an icon, a star, and six fresh buds waiting to bloom all in the same movie and what do you get? Mohabbatein. Sure, the story is the oft-repeated tale of forbidden love, unappreciated lovers and the traditions that gag and bind us, but the all-star cast, the skilled direction, and lively musical numbers all contribute to make this a movie worth noting.

The setting of Mohabbatein is the Gurukul School, an elite school housed in a cold, uninviting, castle-like edifice. Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) is the stern, disciplinarian and somewhat tyrannical headmaster of Gurukul who rules the school with an iron fist.

The story begins on a dark and quiet night at the local train stations where three young men, prospective students at the school, meet on the platform and set out on a journey that brings them closer together than they ever could have imagined. Vicky (Uday Chopra) is an athletic, energetic playboy type, seemingly unshaken by the harsh reality of the school. Sameer (Jugal Hansraj) is the timid and shy one with boyish charm and innocent looks. And Karan (Jimmy Shergill) completes the trio as the more mature, intense member of the pack.

The three lads are struck by cupid's arrow when they meet the three heroines; Vicky loses his heart to a rich and spoiled girl named Ishika (Shamita Shetty) while Sameer is reunited with his childhood buddy, the bubbly Sanjana (Kim Sharma) and Karan falls hard for the bashful widow, Kiran (Preeti Jhangiani).

As with every true-to-form Bollywood movie, their love stories are met with several obstacles, such as differences in class, no-good boyfriends, and familial obligations, but the most important hurdle in their path is none other than Narayan Shankar who is convinced that love is a pure waste of time. A glimmer of hope comes their way when a maverick music teacher, Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) sweeps into the picture and helps nurture their young loves. What follows is a battle of good and evil, love and hate, and sheer determination and conviction on both sides at the end of which … (well, let's not get carried away! Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy!).

Some love stories live forever.... And so will this movie...Two great superstars offers superb acting......Seeing two talented actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh work side by side was mind blowing...The story reminds us that love is all powerful and with it we can overcome the most difficult of situations...Gurlz were ok...The soundtrack is amazing...Violin Music was melodious...Locations were mind blowing....skimpy clothes were good...watchable movie.

This movie clearly proves that Love is the strongest thing in this world more powerful than fear or anything else. I have seen many Hollywood and Hindi love based movies but this is best. "today you want to forget her, just because she loves someone else this is very bad.Never fall in love with a condition there are no conditions in love so there should not be any regrets, so what if today she is not with me i still love her the same way not because i can n0t find someone else to love, but loving her makes me happy whenever i miss her, i close my eyes and she is with me" Directed by Aditya Chopra the same guy who directed DDLJ...