Kahin Pyar Na Ho Jaaye's film review page
Siddhivinayak Creations' KAHIN PYAAR NA
HO JAAYE, directed by K. Murali Mohan Rao, is inspired by
director Frank Coraci's Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore-Christine
Taylor starrer THE WEDDING SINGER.
KAHIN PYAAR NA HO JAAYE tells the story of Prem (Salman Khan),
who earns his livelihood by performing at weddings and functions.
He lives with his sister Neelu (Kashmira Shah) and brother-in-law
Mohnish Bahl.
Prem is in love with Nisha (Raveena Tandon), but fate has
something else in store for them. Nisha walks out on Prem since
she needs the money to cure her ailing brother, who is suffering
from cancer. The only way to raise funds, as Nisha sees it, is by
marrying a wealthy NRI. Nisha deserts Prem on their wedding day.
Prem is heartbroken.
Enter Priya (Rani Mukherji), who comes to stay with her cousin
Mona (Pooja Batra), an aspiring actress. Mona is the next-door
neighbour of Prem and slowly, Prem starts getting attracted to
Priya.
But there's a problem again. Priya gets engaged to Ravi (Inder
Kumar), who, we are later told, is the same guy Nisha was
supposed to marry. Priya is on crossroads since she has also
fallen in love with Prem. At this stage, Nisha also walks back on
the scene.
So what happens in the final tally?
An interesting plot – a singer who performs at weddings, but
is unlucky when it comes to his own wedding – is an ideal
subject to suit the Indian tastes. But how one wishes the
director and his team of writers would've handled the film with
far more maturity and sensitivity. For, the goings-on look
contrived and the outcome is mind-numbing.
The negative factors of the film outweigh the positive ones.
To start with, the screenplay is stretched to such an extent that
it starts taxing the patience of the viewer. Too much emphasis is
given to the scenes showing Jackie and Salman in a state of
intoxication, which was just not needed.
Two, the emotional scenes look superficial and the romantic ones
don't impress either. Salman sudden interest in Rani looks abrupt
and should've been developed with fervour.
Three, the comedy track – Shakti Kapoor and his four kids
– is alien to the subject of the film. Hence, it looks like
an altogether different track.
Four, the placement of some songs is erratic. The best song of
this enterprise – 'Teri Akhiyan Kamaal' – comes at a
point when a song was just not required. And what's more, it pops
up without a valid situation.
Five, the director and writers have concentrated so much on the
characterisation of the two principal characters, that the
characterisations of the remaining performers, Jackie Shroff,
Raveena Tandon, Pooja Batra, Mohnish Bahl and Inder Kumar, fall
flat. They have been used as mere props.
Director K. Murali Mohan Rao, whose last effort – BANDHAN
– was indeed laudable, seems to have gone haywire this time.
He has chosen the right story without doubt, but the
presentation/interpretation is slapdash. Technically, the film is
shoddy and even otherwise the dramatic scenes lack the required
punch. He is letdown, to a major extent, by his team of writers
who have ruined a subject that had ample scope to appeal to the
Indian audience.
Himesh Reshammiya's music is not all that inspiring. The
'Akhiyaan Kamaal' number is good to hear but seen in the context
of the film's narration, seems like a forced item. Even the
picturisation seems like a hasty job. The pick of the lot is
indubitably 'Priya', which comes at the right situation. The
title track – picturised in Salman Khan's farmhouse in
Panvel – has a decent tune and the lush green locales make
for visual appeal. Cinematography is passable. Dialogues rely
more on clichés.
Salman Khan does not impress. He shows sparks in a few scenes
only. Rani Mukherji is just about okay, though she looks plump on
several occasions. Jackie Shroff is wasted in an inconsequential
role. He looks tired and least interested in the goings-on. Pooja
Batra is awkward. Inder Kumar continues to be wooden. Mohnish
Bahl and Kashmira Shah are adequate. Raveena Tandon is also
wasted. What prompted her to accept such an insignificant role is
a big question.
On the whole, KAHIN PYAAR NA HO JAAYE stands on a weak foundation
– the script – and will thus find the going tough. Its
ordinary to dull opening will also add to the woes of its
investors.
Rating:- * (poor).
'Love the neighbour’ is what K Murli Mohan Rao seems to be saying in his latest release Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye (KPNHJ). The hero of the film Prem (Salman Khan) takes this advice seriously. As soon as he is dropped by one girl, he promptly falls in love with his new neighbour Priya (Rani Mukherjee) who has just moved in from Pune. However, woe of woes, before he can tell her 'I Love You', she invites him to her engagement to an NRI Rahul Pughalia (Inder Kumar). Oh, not again, screams Prem and hits the bottle with his friend Tiger (Jackie Shroff) for company.
Tiger too has his own tragic tale. He too wishes to marry his neighbour. No, we are not talking about Priya, but her cousin Mona (Pooja Batra), a struggling actress, who has resolved not to wed till she becomes a star. And Tiger sees no hopes of matrimony with her in the near future.
Tiger and Prem’s sister and borther-in-law keep provoking
Prem to go up to Priya and express his feelings for her. But each
time he tries to do so, Priya gives him the impression that she
is happy with Rahul. Priya practices pronouncing her changed name
after marriage. And, believe it or not, only because she find it
easier to pronounce her full name as Priya Kapoor, she runs to
Prem who is a Kapoor. But her timing is a little wrong. For Nisha
(Raveena Tandon), Prem’s first love, has just returned back
to him. An irritated Priya rushes back to Rahul and forces him to
marry her immediately. Everybody ends up happy as they do in
heaven and in Hindi films.
The less said the better about Salman’s performance. His disinterest comes across plainly. He is good in a rare scene like the comic sequence wherein he gets drunk for the first time and psyches Jackie. Probably, Salman has been cashing too much on his good looks, read good physique, to draw crowds to his films. He needs to do some re-thinking. Jackie Shroff looks tired in the film. He needs to do something urgently about his looks or take up more senior roles.
As for the women in the film, they are all wasted. Raveena Tandon looks stunning. One wonders why her name came second to Rani’s in the credits. Rani again has nothing much to do in the film except look pretty. However, sadly enough, she does not always do so. There seem to have been some problems with her make-up and her clothes. Pooja Batra is equally lost in the film. She doesn’t even have a solo song with Jackie Shroff, which seems unfair.
Mohnish Bahl and Kashmira Shah (Salman’s jeanswali sister) have done fairly good jobs in the film. But Shakti Kapoor as a Brahmin astrologer with four kids, neighbour to Salman, is irritating enough to evoke murderous feelings. Except for a couple of songs like Savaria and Kahin pyaar na ho jaaye, the music has nothing to offer to your soul. The choreography disappoints as much.
Just in case you miss KPNHJ, grab a cassette of the film Wedding Singer and you’ll know what KPNHJ is all about. This is definitely a poor copy of The Wedding Singer. An inconsequential film in every way.
--Bharati Dubey
Might as well face it, Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye is about as original and as entertaining as a shirtless Salman Khan.
I mean, what were the film-makers thinking? What were the actors thinking? The most obvious answer is that they weren't!!! That is the only justification for coming up with a story as banal, as hackneyed and as badly executed as this one.
There's nice-guy-no-money Prem who is jilted in love by helpless-circumstances Nisha (Raveena Tandon). So nice-guy-no-money falls for I-believe-in-arranged-marriage Priya (Rani Mukherjee). The plot thickens as I-believe-in-arranged-marriage is engaged to not-nice-but-rich Rahul (Inder Kumar).
Anyone afflicted with the Bollywood syndrome and/or has an IQ level of 15 will realise that the rest of the film revolves around the chasms that separate I-believe-in-arranged-marriage and nice-guy-no-money and how they are overcome.
For all Salman Khan fans: Give KPNHJ a miss if you still want to retain your loyalty to the man. Though he tries his level best to enlist the audience's sympathy, he fails miserably. They are too busy feeling sorry for themselves for being put through this tortuous 'movie'.
Ditto for all those losing sleepless nights over Rani. Just when you give her credit for films like Hey! Ram and Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, she goes and does a KPNHJ.
Of course, there's an entire line-up of supporting actors faithfully doing their bit, so the audience's ire can be equally distributed. Like Kashmira Shah, for example, who plays Salman's sister. And -- will wonders never cease? -- she has no cabaret song in the film.
Raveena spends all of her screen time -- approximately seven minutes 38 seconds -- either looking despondent or dancing. Inder Kumar beats her by showing up for eight minutes 49 seconds, but looks half as good. Compared to these two, Pooja Batra hogs the show: She displays a perfect 10 figure and a perfect lack of talent.
A disinterested Mohinsh Behl is the hen-pecked brother-in-law while a puffy-faced, overly made-up and excessively wasted Jackie Shroff is Salman's best friend. There's Shakti Kapoor in a role that will surely win him an award for the most non-funny comedic performance ever.
Musically speaking, composer Himesh Reshammiya has come up with only two songs that are worth lending your ears to -- Savariya and the title song. Director K Murli Mohan Rao must have been relatively free during the making of this movie, since it's practically directionless. It goes on and on; unfortunately, it doesn't go anywhere.
Nothing -- not the music, nor the acting, nor the direction -- can ensure you your money's worth. Instead, save your moolah for a rainy day.
Kahi Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye
- 1st Day in Bombay
Eros - 1,17,693 (100%)
Geeta - 70,619 (87.47%)
Premier - 50,699 (95.12%)
Cine Planet - Unreceived
Galaxy - 82,208 (100%)
New citylight - 46,193 (74.94%)
Pinky - 1,00,704 (78.32%)
Anupam - 76,100 (84.26%)
Milap - Unreceived
Ajanta - 69,000 (77.93%)
Kalpana - 80,962 (78.84%)
Ashish - Unreceived
Shreyas - 75,000 (88.82%)
Mehul - 35,109 (45.69%)
Picture this
Wednesday, November 15, 2000. Time: 10 p.m. Venue: A preview
theatre in Juhu. This preview show of 'Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye'
is crucial for the producer.
It is for the first time that his hero, Salman Khan, is watching
the film with his family – brothers Arbaaz and Sohail,
Sohail's wife, sister Alvira, brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri,
friends Kiron Kher, Sanjay Kapoor, Maheep Kapoor, David Dhawan
with his wife Lali, Salman's mooh-boli-behn Neelofer Amrohi,
Tajdar Amrohi (son of the legendary Kamal Amrohi), Taran
Adarsh… And yes, there's Salman's 'good friend' Ms.
Aishwarya Rai too.
The preview show of 'Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye' is scheduled to
commence. I am looking forward to this film, which is inspired by
the English flick 'The Wedding Singer'. The successful team of
'Bandhan' – producers Shyam and Narendra Bajaj, Venus music
company (the film's presenters), director K. Murali Mohan Rao and
lead men Jackie Shroff and Salman Khan – have once again
joined hands, so will history repeat itself?
But as the reels unfold, my hopes start crashing. A poor
imitation of 'The Wedding Singer', the film fails to hold the
viewer's interest after a point. The film sinks faster than
Titanic. The drama is unbearable and unrealistic and even a
bottle of 'Hajmola' (digestive pills) wouldn't help.
The interval comes as a relief.
Over sandwiches and hot coffee (a must while watching such
flicks, it keeps you awake!), Salman tells me, "Isn't this
flick cute? It's a feel-good film." My face is minus any
expression (exactly like Jackie Shroff's in the film!) and I go
for another round of steaming coffee. After all, I have to keep
awake for another one hour. Everyone else is discussing
everything under the sun, except the film.
The second half begins. The scenario moves from bad to worse. The
climax is childish. The songs pop up without valid situations.
There's nothing that can save this film, I tell myself. This film
just cannot work at the b.o.
Sure. Confident. Lock kiya jaaye.
When the show ends at 1.30 a.m., the proud (?) producer and
director team are waiting at the entrance of the preview theatre
to gauge the reaction. Salman meets them first. No reaction. I
follow. The producer's eyes light up as he asks me, "Boss,
kaisi lagi film?" I am embarrassed. What do I answer? God,
help me.
Help comes in the form of Aishwarya Rai. The stunning beauty
quickly answers, "Wow, what a film." The producer and
director duo smile from ear to ear!
Yes, it was a memorable night.
I found the off-screen cootchie-cooing between Salman and Ash far
from interesting than the on-screen chemistry between Salman-Rani
or Salman-Raveena.
I found the guffaws of Kiron Kher and Lali Dhawan far more
natural than the light scenes in the film.
I found the interaction between Salman and his sister far more
realistic than the interaction between Salman and Kashmira Shah
(on-screen sister) in the film.
I found Salman's mooh-boli-behn, Neelofer's one-liners far more
interesting than those penned by the writers of the film.
Had the makers of 'The Wedding Singer' seen the Indian adaptation
of their film, I am sure their faces must've been like a rainbow
by now – sometimes violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow,
orange and of course, red.
THE BOX-OFFICE STATUS OF THE FILM: 'Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye'
opened to the lowest opening for a Salman Khan starrer, worse
than the forgettable 'Chal Mere Bhai'. At places like Nagpur,
Indore, Jaipur and some theatres of Mumbai, the week-end
collections have been far from satisfactory. The film has gone
for a toss… But wasn't that expected?
In a nutshell, 'Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye' will entail losses to
its distributors and exhibitors.
If you haven't had enough
candy-floss flicks, check out Kahin Pyar Ho Na Jaye.
In Kahin Pyar Ho Na Jaye the skimpily-clad Sallu bills and
coos the Khandala girl Rani Mukherjee while Jackie Shroff
entices the lanky lass Pooja Batra. And amidst this cooing and
wooing will be some crooning and swooning by pretty damsels
Kashmira Shah and Raveena Tandon.
Mohnish Behl, Inder Kumar and Shakti Kapoor co-star in K. Murali
Manohar Rao directed Kahin Pyar Ho Na Jaye .The story and
screenplay is by Sanjay Chel who had earlier penned his own film Khoobsurat.
The promos of the film show Sallu dear flaunting his brawns in
designer clothes and Rani, clad in her best bib and tucker, doing
what she failed to do in Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega--win
Sallu's love. The duo will also do gamboling around the exotic
locales to the tepid music score by Himmesh Reshammiya who tries
to kindle some emotions, but only in vain.
©(1999 - 2000)- ' Salman Khan
Unlimited ' ,maintained by Essackjee Ismael .
All
rights reserved .
