Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai

The new year 2000 is almost over and looking back at the year on the Hindi film industry - it hasn't been hot at all. Only 1 Superhit so far, way back in January! The year will be remembered of course for the debut of an actor named Hrithik Roshan who was a nationwide phenomenon in India. And in a nation of 1 billion people - that is a HUGE phenomenon.

It was a case of a great looking guy who entertained people - good promotional advertising on the producers part and partly due to the dismal performance of the Khans' films that Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai did that well. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is leagues better and it would be criminal to compare this film to DDLJ (ah...the shudder of perfection). It's not that good.

The plot is simple and nothing we haven't seen before folks.

On vacation in New Zealand, an emotionally upset Sonia laments over the loss of her boyfriend Rohit; rich girl, poor boy scenario. But there is something familiar about the yuppie rich kid Raj, whom she meets at a dance club - an excellent scene made only more powerful by Lucky Ali's music track. A fast pace and 2 plot twists keep the movie highly entertaining and above average fare. The film is a bit of a thriller but mainly an entertainer, and I'm happy it does it's job here. Love stories don't always need a moral - we just want to have a good time. ( No, I won't call 'Believe in Love' a moral)

Director Rakesh Roshan manages to showcase all of his son's talents in this film: body build, dancing moves, a range of emotions and a knack for acting - something most actors in the industry today, lack.

Amisha Patel isn't given a lot to do here and thankfully does it well. She is very easy on the eyes - but of course! This is of course Hrithik's movie - the one that shot him into the the pre-adolescent hearts of every girl in the country, and their mothers too! He's under the spotlight 24/7 and a role model to many adolescent boys.

Hrithik's made a great first impression, but in an industry as whimsical as ours where you're only as good as your next movie he needs to diversify his roles (if that's possible in our industry) and keep the hits coming. I've got my fingers crossed for this guy - please don't be a one hit wonder.

Rohit(hrithik) dreams to become a famous singer and works as a car salesman for living. He falls in love with sonia(amisha patel). Rohit delivers a car for her birthday. Then he also attracts his boss's son atul by singing in sonia's birthday party. Impressed with rohit, atul signs him to sing in a cruise where sonia also comes. Rohit and sonia get separated from the ship and land in a deserted island. Both of them confess their love towards each other. When sonia's father saxena(anupam kher) finds them, he tries to separate them but realises rohit's sincerity and gives him a chance to become independent. When rohit gets a chance to perform a live musical show, he gets murdered by inspector kadam and shinde as he was a witness of the commissioner's murder. Rohit's body gets missing and Sonia is left depressed. Saxena sends her to new zealand with his brother. There she meets rohits lookalike raj. Raj is a rich NRI and has never come to India. He falls in love with sonia but sonia gets more disturbed seeing raj. When raj knows about Rohit, he is first hurt but then goes to India for sonia. There he gets attacked by kadam and then both sonia and raj realise there is some foul play regarding rohit's death. Rest of the movie is how raj and sonia find rohit's killer.

In his debut, hrithik owes the film. Its his show all over. He brilliantly portrayed different characters of raj and rohit brilliantly. As rohit, he is handsome and charming on the other hand is classy and stylish as raj. Another highlight is rajesh roshan's chartbuster music. The songs along with hrithik's dance were a treat to watch. Amisha gets completely overshadowed. Story has nothing new to offer, script is average and climax is typical hero saving kidnapped heroine.

On the while knph is most remembered for hrithik roshan's performance and songs.

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai is without doubt a very entertaining movie

and a great launchpad for Hrithik Roshan, the son of actor/director Rakesh Roshan. At the start of the movie he is lovable as any Bollywood actor can be as a struggling singer. Amisha is just the cute looker needed to make Hrithik look like a great lover. Of course, Amisha has done her job well, which is basically to look cute. :) The second entry of Hrithik makes him look real dashing and we get to see 2 avataars of Hrithik in one movie. There is no comment about how this is possible in the film. Rakesh Roshan had used the second avataar formula for double roles in Karan Arjun where he had made a weird unacceptable explaination... Here he solves the problem by giving no explaination. Who cares, right as long as we get to see 2 Hrithiks for the price of one. :)

Catchy songs, great dancing, beautiful locations, decent story with a touch of "Vertigo (1958)" and the debut of Hrithik Roshan, Bollywood's (Hollywood's?) next superstar. Not to be missed if you are into commercial Indian films, if not, worth a try anyway. Attention! This movie can be addictive. Consume with moderation, now that the DVD is out. :-)

Among recent hindi movies, KNPH (Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai) is just the perfect date movie for Valentine's day. And since this was the time around which it was released, it became a box-office blockbuster in no time.

This is no artistic movie. And its stars are not exactly skilled veterans who will challenge the likes of Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks for the 'best actor' oscar. But, this film certainly knows what it wants to give to the audience - 3 hours of entertainment, in its purest form. Its ingredients are nothing out of the ordinary - a proper love story, an antagonist, picture-perfect filming locations and a reasonably good potrayal of the ultimate triumph of true love. But, unlike other run-of-the-mill bollywood romances, the story in this one has a very nice pace and flow to it. Never once did I feel bored, or think about anything else during the movie. The film just doesn't let you too.

On the whole, a nice movie for the whole family, and especially for couples.