Someone, somewhere makes a living writing capsule descriptions for
Bollywood movies. I’m convinced that there’s only one person doing it,
and thanks to Mumbai’s high annual output, he’s only ever able to watch
the first fifteen minutes of a film before writing the blurb and moving
on to the next film. For instance, here’s what Netflix says about
Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999)
The summary doesn’t just get a few facts wrong, though; it also somehow fails to mention the entire premise of the film. Having picked up a bad case of Western values, Vijay is simply not interested in an arranged marriage. he has one simple term for agreeing to the marriage: Bride and groom will sign a contract stating that at the end of one year if either partner decides they do not want to spend the rest of their lives with this person, they will divorce. Megha is understandably shocked, but her home situation has deteriorated; her brother is still unemployed one sister has been sent back by her husband until she can get a heart condition fixed, and the other sister (Gracy Singh!) is three months pregnant, and can’t marry until she raises a sizable dowry. In order to save her family, Megha agrees.
The two marry, and sparks decidedly do not fly. Vijay both intrigues and confuses Megha with his enlightened attitude toward women, while Megha behaves as the perfect Indian wife, taking care of the household, providing emotional support for her husband, gently nagging him into doing the right thing, and even nursing him back to health after a crippling injury. Still, when the year is up, Vijay decides that he doesn’t feel that special something for Megha, and so decides to end the marriage, cheerfully offering to give her a ride home.
Vijay changes his mind, though, when events conspire to remind him that they are actually in India, and that he has rather casually ruined Megha’s life. He offers to take her back, but she refuses flatly (not that I blame her), and so Vijay is forced to spend the rest of the movie trying to win her back.
I’ll say up front that Anil Kapoor is far too old to be playing a recent college graduate. Still, he does good work in HADMRH; Kapoor’s characters tend to be sunny, charming, and downright saintly, but Vijay is surprisingly ambiguous, capable of great kindness and thoughtless cruelty. In Kapoor’s hands, we never quite lose sympathy for Vijay, even at his worst.
As good as Anil is, though, Kajol carries most of the movie. Megha is an archetypal Good Indian Girl, but Kajol never lest her descend into cliché. Megha is very well drawn, and clearly no victim. While they don’t display a lot of romantic chemistry (which is probably for the best) the two leads work well together, with neither one being entirely good or bad.
For some reason Anupam Kher is dressed like a pregnant walrus, but he does a fine job regardless. A number of other actors, including Johny Lever , turn up in a comic subplot that is occasionally mildly amusing and has no real connection to the main plot. Music is by Anu Malik, and is generally good, but the first number is the worst song I have ever heard in any context whatsoever.
HADMRH is an odd movie. It’s clearly a movie about married love rather than romantic love, and takes a remarkably even-handed approach to the conflict between traditional and modern values. It features strong performances by the leads and some of the supporting cast. it also features a tacked-on and unfunny comic subplot, far too many dramatic reaction shots, an ending which is completely over the top, even for Bollywood, and the Worst Song in the History of the World. I’d hate to have to sum this one up in a single paragraph.
Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999)
A traditional Indian father welcomes home his only son, fresh from studying abroad in America. But while the young man would rather keep his exciting American lifestyle, his father has other plans. His dying wish is for his son to settle down with a nice Indian girl and take over the family business. A diligent secretary may be up to the task of becoming his wife – especially if it means she can sing and dance her way out of her own family.That’s almost accurate. The father (Anupam Kher, wearing a silly mustache and with a pillow stuffed under his shirt) isn’t really dying, he just pulls the old “If my son doesn’t want to get married, I don’t want to live, so I’ll eat this sugar” trick in order to guilt his son Vijay (Anil Kapoor) into agreeing to marry. And the secretary, Megha (Kajol), may be frustrated with her own family, but she’s a Good Indian Girl, and would never try to escape, especially since she’s her own families sole financial, emotional, and intellectual support.
The summary doesn’t just get a few facts wrong, though; it also somehow fails to mention the entire premise of the film. Having picked up a bad case of Western values, Vijay is simply not interested in an arranged marriage. he has one simple term for agreeing to the marriage: Bride and groom will sign a contract stating that at the end of one year if either partner decides they do not want to spend the rest of their lives with this person, they will divorce. Megha is understandably shocked, but her home situation has deteriorated; her brother is still unemployed one sister has been sent back by her husband until she can get a heart condition fixed, and the other sister (Gracy Singh!) is three months pregnant, and can’t marry until she raises a sizable dowry. In order to save her family, Megha agrees.
The two marry, and sparks decidedly do not fly. Vijay both intrigues and confuses Megha with his enlightened attitude toward women, while Megha behaves as the perfect Indian wife, taking care of the household, providing emotional support for her husband, gently nagging him into doing the right thing, and even nursing him back to health after a crippling injury. Still, when the year is up, Vijay decides that he doesn’t feel that special something for Megha, and so decides to end the marriage, cheerfully offering to give her a ride home.
Vijay changes his mind, though, when events conspire to remind him that they are actually in India, and that he has rather casually ruined Megha’s life. He offers to take her back, but she refuses flatly (not that I blame her), and so Vijay is forced to spend the rest of the movie trying to win her back.
I’ll say up front that Anil Kapoor is far too old to be playing a recent college graduate. Still, he does good work in HADMRH; Kapoor’s characters tend to be sunny, charming, and downright saintly, but Vijay is surprisingly ambiguous, capable of great kindness and thoughtless cruelty. In Kapoor’s hands, we never quite lose sympathy for Vijay, even at his worst.
As good as Anil is, though, Kajol carries most of the movie. Megha is an archetypal Good Indian Girl, but Kajol never lest her descend into cliché. Megha is very well drawn, and clearly no victim. While they don’t display a lot of romantic chemistry (which is probably for the best) the two leads work well together, with neither one being entirely good or bad.
For some reason Anupam Kher is dressed like a pregnant walrus, but he does a fine job regardless. A number of other actors, including Johny Lever , turn up in a comic subplot that is occasionally mildly amusing and has no real connection to the main plot. Music is by Anu Malik, and is generally good, but the first number is the worst song I have ever heard in any context whatsoever.
HADMRH is an odd movie. It’s clearly a movie about married love rather than romantic love, and takes a remarkably even-handed approach to the conflict between traditional and modern values. It features strong performances by the leads and some of the supporting cast. it also features a tacked-on and unfunny comic subplot, far too many dramatic reaction shots, an ending which is completely over the top, even for Bollywood, and the Worst Song in the History of the World. I’d hate to have to sum this one up in a single paragraph.
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