Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein- 2DISC SET (2000)

Different to advertised story on DVD cover -and terrific!

When I read the DVD cover about two stubborn men - with grim pictures of them on the front cover in my version, I thought this was to be a serious drama. My daughter read the back cover and decided not to watch it with me. It is for this reason I am writing this review. She missed something here and I throughly enjoyed a movie that was nothing like the cover suggested really.
It is thoughtful in many ways but it is very much about the triumph of love-not really a clash of wills.
There really is only one stubborn man who, as a principal, rules his university with fear and rules. There is another man who persists with trying to change him to open up the love within him.
There are also developed subplots about love stories with 3 of the young men from the university. These were all engaging. The length of Bollywood movies I've found I now like (as long as you arent sitting in a cinema all this time and can take an intermission from your DVD- or watch over several nights like a miniseries!) The longer movie gives more time for character development so I find I care a lot more about the fate of the protagonists.
I really enjoyed this movie and suspect it will reign as one of my favorites. The performances are excellent. I cant recall any particularly memorable songs or dances - though both were fine and plenty of them. But the story and the performances were what did it for me.
Bollywood of course is dripping with romance. However there are some deeper thoughts from this one that stayed with me to think about e.g. being able to maintain an open heart and enjoyment of your love whether of not it is returned by the other person (ie that love is about your feelings and the gift they give to YOU and this isnt conditional on whether they are returned or someone dies and exits your life); questions about love and fear and which is the greatest force- and the question it poses about what is life really about (love and openheartedness, or being shutdown and just achievement focused).
The calibre of the actors and the scripting means these questions feel of a different quality to romantic one-liners we are used to (or at least for me).
The legacy of this movie is about joy not about a clash of 2 stubborn people. November 13, 2008

Wondelful Intro to Bollywood

My family's guru massager is from Guayana, from Indian descent and he lend me the movie to see.. Im ashamed to say its was my first Bollywood experience.. wow! its seeing whats happening at the other side of the world... and its a style that would find fertile ground in S. America.. the innocence and idealization of love.. the existance of censorship, makes us thinks when is it that the are going to kiss?.. the living standards of an elite of Indian society.. the presence of music and dances.. such beautiful women.. makes you want to go now!

Whateer the shortcoming the movie may have, I must attribute now to cultural shock, intersting to see that the karakoran war with pakistan has a place in the movie as well as to remember the past english oppresion.. makes me wonder, political propaganda??

As a parent, I wish this was the way our children could view teenage love, we would all benefit from this cultural assimilation... no, I am not suggesting acceptance to the puritanism spirit of the actual US gov May 12, 2007

A sparkling Bollywood gem.

While this film revolves around an essentially frivolous romantic plotline, a somber undertone lends it just the right amount of gravity. The final confrontation between the male leads had me completely in tears. But Mohabbatein's biggest pleasures are in the musical numbers. I found it impossible to sit still through "Aankhen Khuli," the rousing and exhilaratingly choreographed finale to the first half of the film; another tune, "Humko Humise Churalo," is one of Bollywood's loveliest romantic ballads, and also eminently danceable. In each, the peerless Shahrukh Khan combines rich expressiveness as an actor with seemingly effortless virtuosity as a dancer. Mohabbatein is a thoroughly satisfying indulgence. January 1, 2007

Risking all for Love

I was honestly very impressed with the story. The film is 3.5 hours long which might have put off some of the viewers.

At the heart of this story is the battle of fear versus love and centers around 4 young men (3 students and one former student) whose lives intertwined and were affected at India's most prestigious mens college, Gurukul. For 25 years, headmaster Narayan Shankar, ran his college with strict protocol based in Gurukul's unshakeable pillars of tradition, honor, and discipline. Should any student tarnish Gurukul's impeccable reputation by breaking any of its rules, he would be immediately expelled from the school, in turn affording him no opportunity to enter any other university or receive employment.

Along comes Mr. Raj Aryan, the one known student in Gurukul to have been expelled because of his love for the headmaster's daughter. The manner of his dismissal was so abrupt that the headmaster expelled Raj without even having met him, an action which prompted the distraught daughter to take her own life. Raj is back to teach the headmaster a lesson and is determined to change the ways of Gurukul forever. Thus the battle of fear versus love begins. Taking cues from their teacher, our three young students are inspired to take risks in love and life.

The songs and dance were colorful and beautiful, and the movie is well editted when brining Aishwarya Rai's spirit character into the storyline. Love it. Must be seen. March 13, 2006

Am I the only one?

I have to say...of the reviews I've read and the few people I've spoken with, I seem to be the only one who was completely disappointed with the story in Mohabbatein. I have been encouraged to watch this film since 2 years ago and had eagerly looked forward to it, but didn't like a thing about it. I found myself more eager to hit the fast forward button. All of the actresses in the film, except Aishwariya Rai, were quite unattractive and scantily-dressed...which for me was a big turn-off to whatever depth the film was trying to offer. I didn't enjoy any of the big dance numbers or the songs included. I found the dancing to be very average and the love stories (with the exception of the widow) all seemed to lack depth...and looked more like teenage crushes rather than meaningful romances. I found myself siding more and more with Amitabh Bachchan's character in regards to discipline and focus, and felt betrayed when the director had his character do a moral 180. I also found the character of Aishwariya's to be annoyingly stupid...as I couldn't understand the justification for suicide, unless she was being forced to marry another boy. I never cared for any character in the film...and I only enjoyed the few references to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. July 27, 2005

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