A few months ago, I was a substitute teacher for a Middle School honors English class which was preparing for a performance of Romeo and Juliet.
When the regular teacher found out that I was a theater major in my
wasted youth, I was quickly roped into helping with rehearsals. At
about the same time, I also watched the Govinda/Karisma film Hero No. 1,
in which the children of feuding parents fall in love, but rather than
elope, Govinda works incognito as a servant in Karisma’s house, both to
be near her and to try and find away to win her family over. This led
me to one of those strange cultural disconnects that you get sometimes
after too much Bollywood; I knew that Romeo and Juliet were supposed to
be tragic, doomed and heroic lovers, but I just couldn’t sympathize with
them - after all, they were disobeying their parents! Why couldn’t they be more like that nice Govinda?
Which brings me to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which is very much an Indian spin on Romeo and Juliet. Dhanraj Singh (Dalip Tahil) was sent to prison after killing a man to avenge his sister’s dishonor and subsequent suicide. He’s served his time, though, and is released to be happily reunited with his family, and especially his son Raj (a very young Aamir Khan).
Raj is a recent college graduate, and soon goes to work for the family business. While on a brief business trip to the old village, he and his cousin Shyam (Raj Zutshi) crash a local party. There, Raj catches a glimpse of Rashmi (a very young Juhi Chawla) and falls instantly in love. Unfortunately, she’s the daughter of Randhir Singh (Goga Kapoor), brother of the man Dhanraj killed.
Due to a misunderstanding, Raj flees the party before getting a chance to speak to Rashmi. That would be the end of it, except that both families independently plan vacations at Mount Abu. (I suppose the blood feud keeps them from calling each other up to coordinate these things.) Raj and Rashmi meet, and are later forced together when both are lost in the woods. Raj tries valiantly to resist his feelings, but soon the pair are in love. Before Raj can reveal the truth about his family to Rashmi, though, she bumps into Dhanraj . . .
It’s at this point that the plot really deviates from the Shakespearean model. In QSQT, the ensuing tragedy really is the fault of the parents; both families do their level best to destroy the blossoming romance, upping the ante until the couple is forced to elope. In Romeo and Juliet, on the other hand, the Montagues and Capulets don’t have a chance to stifle anything because they don’t find out about the relationship until the young lovers are already dead. We never do find out how they would have reacted to the relationship. I have to say that I prefer QSQT’s approach, because it makes Raj and Rashmi more sympathetic. They are rebelling against something concrete, instead of being stupid melodramatic teenagers, so I can accept their disobedience.
This film came very early in both Aamir Khan’s and Juhi Chawla’s respective careers. They both give adequate performances, but clearly neither actor has had a chance to discover his or her true niche; Raj is a generic well meaning young man in love, and doesn’t provide much scope for Khan’s gift for characterization, while the part of Rashmi is Bollywood-spunky but doesn’t display any of Chawla’s comedic talents. The supporting cast is much more interesting, in particular the two fathers.
Because the parents in QSQT are active rather than passive, the tragedy in the film is all the more compelling. The lovers are believably cast as pawns in a conflict they had nothing to do with, and because the parents really are responsible for the ensuing tragedy, it makes their reactions all the more important. I was actually disappointed that the film ended when it did, because I was interested in seeing the aftermath.
Which brings me to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which is very much an Indian spin on Romeo and Juliet. Dhanraj Singh (Dalip Tahil) was sent to prison after killing a man to avenge his sister’s dishonor and subsequent suicide. He’s served his time, though, and is released to be happily reunited with his family, and especially his son Raj (a very young Aamir Khan).
Raj is a recent college graduate, and soon goes to work for the family business. While on a brief business trip to the old village, he and his cousin Shyam (Raj Zutshi) crash a local party. There, Raj catches a glimpse of Rashmi (a very young Juhi Chawla) and falls instantly in love. Unfortunately, she’s the daughter of Randhir Singh (Goga Kapoor), brother of the man Dhanraj killed.
Due to a misunderstanding, Raj flees the party before getting a chance to speak to Rashmi. That would be the end of it, except that both families independently plan vacations at Mount Abu. (I suppose the blood feud keeps them from calling each other up to coordinate these things.) Raj and Rashmi meet, and are later forced together when both are lost in the woods. Raj tries valiantly to resist his feelings, but soon the pair are in love. Before Raj can reveal the truth about his family to Rashmi, though, she bumps into Dhanraj . . .
It’s at this point that the plot really deviates from the Shakespearean model. In QSQT, the ensuing tragedy really is the fault of the parents; both families do their level best to destroy the blossoming romance, upping the ante until the couple is forced to elope. In Romeo and Juliet, on the other hand, the Montagues and Capulets don’t have a chance to stifle anything because they don’t find out about the relationship until the young lovers are already dead. We never do find out how they would have reacted to the relationship. I have to say that I prefer QSQT’s approach, because it makes Raj and Rashmi more sympathetic. They are rebelling against something concrete, instead of being stupid melodramatic teenagers, so I can accept their disobedience.
This film came very early in both Aamir Khan’s and Juhi Chawla’s respective careers. They both give adequate performances, but clearly neither actor has had a chance to discover his or her true niche; Raj is a generic well meaning young man in love, and doesn’t provide much scope for Khan’s gift for characterization, while the part of Rashmi is Bollywood-spunky but doesn’t display any of Chawla’s comedic talents. The supporting cast is much more interesting, in particular the two fathers.
Because the parents in QSQT are active rather than passive, the tragedy in the film is all the more compelling. The lovers are believably cast as pawns in a conflict they had nothing to do with, and because the parents really are responsible for the ensuing tragedy, it makes their reactions all the more important. I was actually disappointed that the film ended when it did, because I was interested in seeing the aftermath.
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