MartinHafer I recently wrote an article for Influx Magazine about my love for Indian films. However, if I'd started with "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai", I doubt if I would have wanted to watch another Bollywood film. I find this strange, as the film was HUGELY popular and won a ton of awards-- including the IIFA awards for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director among others. Why did I dislike the film so much? Well, it's simply plastered from start to finish with clichés--and was sloppily written. Now I know that formula films are popular in India and the film was wildly successful, but this sort of film simply wouldn't do so well in the States because of the writing. I can think of many Indian films I liked much more--such as "Kahaani" and "Three Idiots"--films which were more original and lacked the strong formulaic qualities of "Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai".Hrithik Roshan (the director's son) and Kareena Kapoor both star in this film--and both went from being unknowns to mega-stars because of this movie. Rohit (Roshan) is a poor but exceptionally handsome singer who sees a woman, Sonia (Kapoor), in the next car. He's smitten and it's love at first sight (cliche #1). Later, they meet and they instantly hit it off. Now, considering how much they are interested in each other, how would you expect Sonia to behave? Yep...she's irritable, nasty and pushes him away constantly for no discernible reason (cliche #2). Later they get marooned on an island and, surprise, surprise, they argue and fight but later come to fall for each other (cliche #3). They return home and plan on getting married--when disaster strikes and they cannot yet get married (cliche #4). And, in the interim, she travels to New Zealand and meets a man who is the exact double for Rohit (cliche #5). More clichés exist in this film....but you get the picture. The bottom line is that I hate it when plots seem contrived and formulaic--and this film clearly is both. Now it's not all bad--the stars gave nice performances when they weren't behaving stupidly. Plus, if you are looking for eye candy, both stars are quite beautiful. Roshan in particular is just pretty...not necessarily rugged--just very, very pretty. And, although the songs sounded tinnier than more recent Indian films, they were catchy. The bottom line is that I do not understand the reasons for this film's amazing success.

shahid_khan7868 good movie .... great songs .. all in all a good movie to watch out for... .. thanks to the gr8 music that makes this movie more special débutant's did well.... but did he deserve BEST ACTOR AWARD .shahrukh khan the same yr did superb in MohabateinKaho Na Pyaar hai is a launch pad for his son Hritik Roshan and he attempts a different feel in this film. One expected the usual love story but the film has many surprises.Rohit is a poor orphan, living with his younger borther and making a living selling cars in a showroom. He is also an aspiring singer. His path crosses that of Sonia, a rich and pampered girl and before we know it, love has blossomed. However, Sonia's father will not accept Rohit and Rohit promises to make it big and then return for Sonia. However, there is a sub-plot to the film, and it is when Rohit witnesses the murder of a policeman that the film begins takes a different turn. To reveal any more would be giving the story away.Sadly, the film suffers from an implausible storyline. In an effort to move away from the usual love story, Roshan has chosen a subject, which is too far-fetched. However, it does make for engrossing viewing even though one is left with a feeling at the end of the film that just does not quite gel.

Akanshima Agarwal Its really a great thing to observe an event Roshan had created in 2000 with the release of this film.The media went haywire , girls went crazy and films too.One could have easily seen the number of predecessors Hrithik Roshan had created after this boom.Body building became a fashion , dancing a hobby and film debuts a trash.More and more people started making their space in the land of all trades Bollywood.Capitalising on this bashing were media who wanted to score big on this Entertainment , Communication and Transportation boom in the land where once Gandhi moved.Indeed they are doing this today as well.Forget all this and the movie goes like this ! Kaho Naa Pyar Hai a movie about a man his death before the completion of his affair and then emerging again in a double role to complete his affair as well as to kill the person who created problem in the finishing of the affair of his previous double.The man is Hrithik Roshan his affair Amisha Patel and the villain Anupam Kher.The audience Bollywood crazy girls. Hrithik Roshan debuts greatly with Amisha Patel , Anupam Kher gives a fine performance which reminds one of his performance in Tezaab.Rakesh Roshan the director behind this greatest film ever produced in India as depicted in the awards ceremony gives a knock out , superb directorial touch.Am I Bollywood certainly yes !

Peter Fawthrop Holy cow. This movie is ridiculous. I'm so frustrated at trying to figure out which Hindi films are worth buying and which ones are pathetic. It seems like almost every review section for a Hindi film has comments like "The best film Ive ever seen" and "The worst movie of all time." How does someone unfamiliar with all these movies know what to believe? Well, I've seen 3... Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, and this one. Lagaan, aside from an overly long cricket game, is a very sweet and charming film. You can't go wrong with it. Dil Chahta Hai grew on me. It started off as a really bad, MTV-like movie and then it redeemed itself with a little bit of depth and one of the most beautiful sequences in sight and sound I've ever seen or heard- Wah Ladki (something or other) You know it if you've seen it- it's where the whole movie theater flaps their arms up and down. And the song makes me want to jump up, dance, rejoice and cry, all at once. The dancing on that song is spectacular and the filming is equal. But Dil Chahta Hai is pretty corny at times- a little too corny- and forgive me, but even though it's a more male-to-male friendly culture, there are some parts that seemed SOOOO homosexual. But its good qualities are hard to ignore. Now comes my 3rd Hindi film experience with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. I have to tell you... this movie manages to include TV SOAP OPERA, DRAMA, COMEDY, MYSTERY, ACTION, MUSICAL, 60s BEACH PARTY MOVIE (Remember Annette and Frankie?) EPIC (due to length) and of course FOREIGN FILM. Where they would place this film at a Blockbuster Video store is anyone's guess. I can't even figure out what I feel for this film. What do I tell you? Maybe I should tell you that I rolled over and laughed out loud more than once, and more than I have in a long time at a movie (Last time I laughed like that was in the Japanese "Spirited Away" and before that, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye.") Maybe I should tell you that I was in disgusted awe of all the blatant product placements that are shoved against the screen for more than a few moments (Coca Cola, Nokia, and countless others)? The movie is embarrassing to watch? The cinematography and directing are a cross between a really terrible television program (e.g. Baywatch) and Moulin Rouge. If you are trying to read the English subtitles, you know that there is something missing- that they are not well translated. You feel like you are watching a really cheesy commercial for about 3 hours (When the gigantic coke signs appeared at the end of the film, while the main actor is singing and dancing on stage like an overgrown Backstreet Boy, I swore the film finally made sense- it was a 3 hour Coke commercial!) The movie is extremely cheery though. It is colorful- and the scenery on the island is gorgeous. There was so much of that wonderful scenery too, and so I appreciated some things that I know I'll never get to see in an American film. But how does one explain a movie where a guy poops in his pants and it falls out (unseen) on the floor, where Santa Claus appears like a madman on a cruise ship, where the main character dies and you think its the end of the movie but then it says "INTERMISSION," where the last third of the movie is full of action sequences that completely destroy everything that came before- where the plot makes absolutely no sense and you know that the writer and director had to tack on an extra hour of nonsense to meet the 3 Hour Quota for Indian films. Where a grown man dreams of being a Backstreet Boy and sings a tune that will get stuck in your head since it's repeated through the whole film. I don't know what to make of this movie. Its ridiculous; its badly acted. Badly directed. It's terribly written. It wants to copy American films, but doesnt know which one to copy, so it copies every single one- but is so bizarre that it is nothing like anything in American cinema. And yet I want to watch it again because I can't believe I saw what I saw.