Maine Pyar Kiya

A typical Hindi film - but oh, the beauty and the warmth of the love story... it's the reason I fell in love with films. Not to forget the fact that it gave Hindi cinema one of its biggest stars - Salman Khan. His casting couldn't have been more perfect. Those big, wounded eyes packed a punch. There wasn't a member of the female species unaffected - old and young, mums and daughters, teenagers and grandmas. And the reason he was so effective - a near perfect film with appealing characters, almost unbearably tender romance, and a dash of healthy drama. Play it again, Sam!

Most films fail to display family emotions and what happens within families and how they get torn apart but this film sheds a unique light on love, family values and the rich / poor divide.

A great moral movie with plenty for everyone to enjoy. Great acting, beautiful songs and a story that wants you to sit in eager anticipation and hope that prem succeeds in his quest to gain approval from his would be father-in-law.

Alok Nath plays his role well and so does the young Bagyshree. The only person who I felt played under himself was the character who played Salman Khans Father. M Behl is splendid as the devious villain and it is wonderful to see how flexible he is as a good guy or bad guy.

Physically speaking there is no magic in the movie but metaphorically speaking this movie is completely divine and full of magic.

This is one of the Best Films of all time. It won several awards including Best Film of the year. Salman Khan did a fabulous job in the movie that launched him into a superstar. The same cannot be said for the actress Bhagyashree, who has disappeared from Bollywood after she got married. The movie is directed by Sooraj Barjatya who has given us great movies in the future like Hum apke hain kaun and Hum Saath saath hai. This is their Best to my opinion. The same cannot be said for Main prem ki deewani hoon which Flopped big time. Maine Pyar Kiya kind of gave birth to the successful Romantic Genre that took place in the 90s. It is full of great music including the Antakshari. I think the romance was amazing and the chemistry was great fun. It is an absolute family entertainer not to be missed.

"Tarana" (1979) was perhaps the last movie from the Rajshri banner which delivered a super-hit and then followed spate of flops. A decade later 1989, Sooraj Barjatya stealthily pulled a miraculous feat. The end result was "Maine Pyar Kiya". He ensured the product was high on family values which Rajshri banner is best known for. In all honesty ad-mist all the contaminated films that were around "Maine Pyar Kiya" was a whiff of fresh air. Loaded with ten songs it was Bollywood musical at its best. With the unadulterated & pristine love-story Sooraj ensured the young generation walked over the clouds. Every teenager was practically mouthing the lines from "Maine Pyar Kiya" (predominantly "No sorry, no thanks" and "I love you so much that it hurts" Ouch!!). Nearly forgot, the nation had suddenly taken penchant for the pigeons as Mr. Barjatya in the performance review did a job enlargement (read that makeover of a postman).

Bhagyashree became a national persona of "girl next door". Just like Dimple Kapadia she bid adieu to the stardom to live happily ever-after. How I wish all the fairy-tales would turn true.

Salman Khan became every teenager's poster boy. The nation suddenly looked up to this guy's well tones muscles who gave a new meaning for a must-have qualities of an actor.

Alok Nath, Reema Lagoo & Rajeev Varma were adequate.

Lakshmikant Berde was a new comedian on the block. Sadly he couldn't catapult to the same success levels in subsequent outings.

Raam-Laxman, a Rajshri regular suddenly was the most sought-after musician and needless to say, he made hay while the sun shines. Lata as usual was her melodious best. S P Bala was once again noticed after "Ek Duje Ke Liye" and became Salman Khan's regular playback for a while.

Sooraj Barjatya poured his heart and soul into "Maine Pyar Kiya" and it showed. Sadly his subsequent ventures could not match up to the pinnacle of "Maine Pyar Kiya".

This movie got my attention because unlike the normal "boy meets girl, can't marry girl" scheme, there was history to the story in the movie. The characters were all well drawn out from the parents to the "bad guys." The "sweet" character of "Suman" was shown to have a different side of her when she become a seductress on the rooftop as she celebrates her birthday with "Prem." The viewer gets to see that side of her which is passionate and perhaps not so innocent...the side the parents do not. The songs are all entertaining, and in the end, we finally see that good guys...and good girls for that matter...do not always finish last! ;-) This is a great movie for those who believe in true love!