Mohabbatein

Mohabbatein
Directed by	Aditya Chopra
Produced by	Yash Chopra
Written by	Aditya Chopra
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Shahrukh Khan Aishwarya Rai Uday Chopra Jugal Hansraj Jimmy Shergill Shamita Shetty Kim Sharma Preeti Jhangiani
Music by	Jatin-Lalit
Cinematography	Manmohan Singh
Editing by	V.V. Karnik Singh Taranjeet
Distributed by	Yash Raj Films
Release dates	27 October 2000
Running time	216 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	181 million (US$2.9 million)[1]
Box office	741.1 million (US$12 million)[2]

Mohabbatein (translation: Love Stories), is a 2000 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Aditya Chopra. It was Chopra's second directorial venture after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and was filmed at India and England. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan in pivotal roles, along with six young debutantes. Aishwarya Rai appeared in flashbacks as Khan's lover. The film's soundtrack was composed by Jatin-Lalit, while the lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. Mohabbatein is most notable for being the first time that Bachchan and Khan appeared on-screen together.

The film went on to do well both critically and commercially. It became the second highest grossing film of the year and was thus declared a superhit.^[3] It also won several awards including the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, given to Khan and Bachchan respectively.

Plot

Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) is the strict headmaster of Gurukul, a prestigious all-boys university. Narayan wants the best out of his students, and places emphasis on tradition, honor and discipline. He has run the university for 25 years, over that time has forbid the students from any kind of romance — anyone he catches falling in love will be expelled. The film focuses on three of the school's students: Sameer (Jugal Hansraj), Vicky (Uday Chopra) and Karan (Jimmy Shergill) who all fall in love. Sameer is in love with Sanjana (Kim Sharma), his childhood friend. Vicky falls for Ishika (Shamita Shetty), a student at the all-girls university next door to Gurukul. Karan becomes smitten with Kiran (Preeti Jhangiani), a girl he sees one night at a train station. All three know that if they're caught they'd be expelled, so they at first do not pursue their love interests.

Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) joins Gurukul as a music teacher. He challenges the status quo and slowly introduces changes that Narayan disapproves of. Raj is a strong believer of love, and when he learns the stories of the three boys, he encourages them to follow their hearts. The boys take his advice, but are disappointed: Sameer discovers that Sanjana has a boyfriend; Vicky only makes Ishika dislike him when trying to woo her; Karan learns that Kiran is married to a pilot who is assumed dead. Raj tells the boys to not be disheartened, and tells them that his love, Megha (Aishwarya Rai) is dead, but he continues to love her and imagines that she is still by his side. Raj encourages the boys to continue to stay loyal to their loves.

One day Raj throws a party in Gurukul, inviting the students from the girls' school from next door as part of his plan to spread love in Gurukul. Narayan is furious and threatens to fire him. Raj then reveals he was a student at Gurukul years ago, and he fell in love with Megha, who was Narayan's only daughter. Narayan had Raj expelled without ever seeing his face, and afterward Megha committed suicide. Raj returned to Gurukul as a teacher in the hopes of changing Narayan's ways and honoring his love for Megha. Raj promises that before he leaves Gurukul, he will fill it with so much love that even Narayan will not be able to remove it. Narayan accepts this challenge, and allows Raj to continue as a teacher for a while longer.

Sameer, Vicky, and Karan one by one win over the girls they love. Narayan retaliates by tightening the rules of Gurukul, but the boys continue to break the rules, which encourages other students to do the same. Narayan finally decides to expel the three, and Raj speaks up on their behalf, telling Narayan that he is the instigator and the boys should not be punished for it. Raj also says that he feels Narayan lost the battle, because his daughter left him and now Raj (who considered Narayan an elder) is leaving him. Raj's words make Narayan realise his mistake. He publicly apologises to the students and steps down as the principal, allowing Raj to take over. Raj turns Gurukul into a love-filled university. In the end Raj, Narayan and a vision of Megha walk happily together towards the gates of Gurukul.

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Narayan Shankar
• Shah Rukh Khan as Raj Aryan Malhotra
• Aishwarya Rai as Megha Shankar
• Uday Chopra as Vikram "Vicky" Oberoi/Kapoor
• Jimmy Shergill as Karan Chaudhry
• Jugal Hansraj as Sameer Sharma
• Shamita Shetty as Ishika Dhanrajgir
• Kim Sharma as Sanjana
• Preeti Jhangiani as Kiran
• Amrish Puri as Maj. Gen. Khanna, Kiran's father-in-law
• Shefali Shah as Nandini, Kiran's sister-in-law
• Parzan Dastur as Ayush, Nandini's son
• Saurabh Shukla as Sanjana's father
• Anupam Kher as Kake
• Archana Puran Singh as Preeto
• Helen as Miss Monica
• Sindhu Tolani as Ishika's friend

Production

Before the production of the film, Amitabh Bachchan was attempting a revival of his career but it was of little success. Also, he was in financial trouble with the bankruptcy of his production company, ABCL, which was hurting his image. These troubles left him almost penniless, and it was at this time that he contacted his friend and director/producer Yash Chopra, who told him of an upcoming production that he could be in.^[4] With Mohabbatein, he was finally able to shed his "hero" image and to play older, more mature roles.^[4] This was the first film in which Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan appeared together. This created a strong buzz for the film as it brought two huge stars of different generations together.

Filming took place in India and England.^[5] Longleat was used as the location for filming Gurukul University. Oxford and Cambridge Universities were also used for filming. The scene where Narayan Shankar walks right before meeting Raj Aryan was filmed at the Queen's College, Oxford. The railway station scenes were shot at Apta Railway Station, Panvel Maharashtra, India. The scene where Karan asks for friendship from Kiran was shot at Birla Mandir, Revdanda, Alibag, Maharashtra, India. It was rumored that Sridevi was approached to be a love interest to Narayan Shankar, but she turned down the role.^[6] Midway through the filming of the song "Aankhein Khuli", Jugal Hansraj fractured his foot, which required him to wear a cast for the rest of the filming of the song. Aishwarya Rai was slated to only make a guest appearance, but her presence generated so much interest that her role was promoted to that of a regular character.^[7]

Music

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Planet Bollywood	[8]

The music of Mohabbatein was composed by Jatin Lalit while lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. The album was very well received by the audience. It was the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the 2000s.^[9]

Music was used extensively throughout the film and features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters (each couple having unique theme music).

Avinash Ramchandani of Planet Bollywood gave the album 9.5 stars stating, "Mohabbatein is an outstanding album with several new singers making a splendid debut, as well as a commendable job by Jatin-Lalit, and brilliant lyrics by Anand Bakshi".^[8]

The songs included on the official soundtrack:

Reception

Critical reception

Mohabbatein received positive reviews from critics. Alok Kumar of Planet Bollywood called it "a feel-good film that takes feeling good to new heights." He wrote, "The film made me care for the characters, something that has not happened since Pooja Bhatt’s brilliant performance in Zakhm or Kajol’s heartwarming performance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Mohabbatein’s lead characters are very well etched and seem real, which is different from most films, whose characters are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts.^[10] Jennifer Hopfinger of thebollywoodticket.com said, "watching Khan and Bachchan go toe-to-toe with grandiose speeches about love and fear—emotions that the two actors have embodied professionally—is ample entertainment."^[11] Savera R Someshwar of Rediff.com commented, "It's a mish-mash alright. But it is also a successful, feelgood film. You'll enjoy yourself as you watch it."^[12] Giving the film 4 out of 5 stars, Tanuka Chakraverty of apunkachoice.com said, "The film's highlights are the one-to-one scenes of Amitabh and Shah Rukh. While the former is a veteran and his histrionics now seem to be an extension of his charisma and aura, the latter gives a matured performance. Shah Rukh is finally a controlled performer with Mohabbatein. He takes Amitabh head on and succeeds in giving compelling shots, not wincing even once.^[13] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3 out of 5 stars. He praised the conflict between the lead characters and the three love stories depicted in the film but criticized its excessive length.^[14]

Box office

Mohabbatein did very well at the box office. It grossed over 741.1 million (US$12 million) at the worldwide box office.^[2] It also became the second highest grossing Hindi film of the year at the domestic box office and was thus declared a "blockbuster."^[3]

Awards

Filmfare Awards

• Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan)^[15]
• Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor (Amitabh Bachchan)^[15]
• Best Sound Recording Anuj Mathur
• Best Scene of the Year - (awarded to the "Climax confrontation" scene between Raj Aryan and Narayan Shankar)

Other Awards

• IIFA Awards - Best Costume Design (Karan Johar)
• IIFA Awards - Best Story (Aditya Chopra)
• Screen Award - Best Lyrics (Anand Bakshi)
• Sansui Viewer Choice Movie Awards - Best Actor (Shahrukh Khan)

References

External links

• Mohabbatein at the Internet Movie Database