Review: Hameshaa

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