Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai Review

Well, what do you say of a movie that has become something of a phenomenon in recent times? Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai is probably the greatest gift that a Dad can give his son - cult status at the age of 26. Millions of fans dying for a glimpse, screaming infatuated young girls ready to tear open their T-shirts for his autograph on their chests, cola companies begging him for endorsements, acres of newsprint dedicated to him, a website that receives more hits than the biggest ones around, queues of producers wanting to sign him up... The hysteria reminds you of what Jim Morrison and Elvis Presley commanded in their heyday.

More than that, the movie has started a Great Divide of sorts - the Khans vs. the we-don't-want-the-Khans. For long, the latter group didn't have any alternative, and Hrithik provides them that much needed anchor to rally around. Tall, handsome, and capable of good emoting and dancing, Hrithik comes as a whiff of quite-needed-fresh-breath for both audiences and producers who could not think beyond the Khans for an assuredly good movie. And he's managed to make Shah Rukh insecure enough to make him do the now infamous cola commercial. Remember, Hrithik is one movie old, and Shah Rukh is a superstar with a decade in Bollywood.

The film as such is nothing path-breaking. It's well-made, though. Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai is the story of a young boy Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) who aspires to be a singer. Its love at first sight for Sonia (Amisha Patel), a rich girl who meets him in the party. Although Anupam Kher is against their marriage (a typical Hindi film ka baap), Rohit convinces him that he'll marry her only after carving a niche for himself in the music industry.

He is all set to make it big when he is killed. Sonia, full of grief, goes to New Zealand. It is here that she meets Raj (Hrithik Roshan) and he falls in love with her. He comes to India and helps her reveal the names of the people responsible for Rohit's death. Although she avoids him initially, she eventually comes to terms with life and accepts his love.

The editing has been done so well that no shades of Rohit's character are visible in Raj's character. The lyrics and the music perfectly complement the movie. It's the right blend of melody and beat. The locales of New Zealand are a feast to the eyes and absolutely breath taking.

Hrithik is an asset to the movie and looks absolutely amazing. He can make sane people go absolutely berserk with his charm and dance. If you've ever heard the people screaming during the song "Ek Pal Ka Jeena", you would probably mistake it for a rock show.

Amisha's performance is reasonably good, but nothing to rave about. It's Hrithik who steals the show. We don't know how well he'll manage to sustain this stardom, but he's definitely made an impact that few have made since a certain Amitabh Bachchan played an angry police officer in Zanjeer 25 years back.