Hameshaa
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Aditya Pancholi
Directed by: Sanjay Gupta
Released: September 12, 1997
Childhood friends Raja (Ali Kha) and Yash (Pancholi) come
from two very different back grounds. Yash is very wealthy, and Raja is poor.
This, however, does not stop them from growing up thick as thieves and close as
brothers. Hameshaa opens with them racing each other in what seems like a very
dangerous setting. The friends, however, simply laugh it off and begin talking
about who they would choose if they had to – each other, or the girl of their
dreams. Enter Rani Sharma (Kajol), a beautiful young woman in a neela dupatta
peela suit (arguably the best, most upbeat song from the movie despite the
laughable choreography. But, hey, it was 90s Bollywood). Soon after, Yash too
encounters Rani and is also completely in love with her beauty and charms and
finds it impossible not to fall in love with her.
Both men
are quick to find each other and express their hearts’ desires, neither of them
realizing that they are in fact speaking about the same woman. When Yash,
however, finds out that the woman he so desperately wants has given her heart
to his best friend, he becomes… a tad bit unhinged. He poses to Raja the same
question they discussed when we first saw them – friends or the perfect girl?
Much to Rani’s horror, Yash pushes Raja over the edge of a cliff and she joins
him despite earnest efforts from Yash.
Years later
Yash is an older and bitter man living with his Dai Ma and as fate would have
it, he stumbles upon Raju and Reshma – both bearing an uncanny resemblance to
Raja and Rani respectively. Not about to lose what he considers to be the love
of his life a second time, he begins working hard to keep the two of them apart.
Does true love always prevail? Well, you’ll just have to find out!
I truly love how Kajol can look
great with any – and I mean any – Khan. She and Shahrukh are one of if not the
most popular and charismatic couple in the history of Indian cinema, their jodi
bringing many fans young and old to the cinema to watch their magic unfold on
screen. Then she acted with Salman Khan and proved to have chemistry with him
as well in their small parts of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the cute movie Pyaar
Kiya To Darna Kya. And of course who could possibly forget the tangible love
that she and Aamir Khan portrayed during Fanaa. That covers the three major
Khans, right? Well this film proves that she and Saif are pure pyaar, even more
than her and Shahrukh in the majority of their films together, in my opinion.
As far as
their acting goes, Kajol does what she is famous (or infamous, depending on who
you ask) for and takes the emotion to the next level. Her expressions during
songs are equally adorable and hilarious. The song Aisa Milan Kal Ho Na gives her
a chance to prove just how sensual she can be. This film is nothing difficult
and doesn’t require top notch acting and therefore natural talents such as Kajol
and Saif Ali Khan pull it off with little effort on their parts. Aditya
Pancholi is able to deliver a good performance as Yash, making you truly hate
him and his villainous self increasingly throughout the film, while still
making you feel somewhat bad for him as he too loved Rani and had her taken
away from him. But in the end, I found it hard to root for anyone other than
Raja and Rani, which of course is only right.
I would
classify this film under my guilty pleasure category. It is not a perfect film,
but it is decent. Classic 90s romance film and a good one time watch for most
people. But because of the combination of beautiful settings, wonderful
chemistry and a beautiful struggle for love, I enjoy this film much more than I
probably should. Objectively, however, the rating really must be a simple:
Rating: 5/10
