Narayan Shankar has been the strict Headmaster of Gurukul, a prestigious all-boys college, for 25 years. He believes in bringing the best out of his students by emphasizing honor, tradition and discipline, with no room for fun and games. He is particularly intolerant of romance, decreeing that any student who is caught having a romantic affair will immediately be expelled. Despite this draconian rule, three Gurukul students — Sameer, Vicky, and Karan — all fall in love. Sameer is head over heels in love with Sanjana, a carefree and sweet young girl who is his childhood friend but who already has a steady boyfriend named Deepak. Vicky is attracted to Ishika, a sporty and feisty young student at the neighboring all-girls college who rebuffs his attempts to woo her. Karan falls for Kiran, an elegant young widow whose military pilot husband has been shot down and whom Karan sees alone one night in a train station. Meanwhile, Narayan hires Raj Aryan Malhotra as Gurukul's new music teacher. Friendly and a firm believer in the power of love, Raj Aryan makes it his mission to spread love throughout Gurukul. He sympathizes with the predicaments of Sameer, Vicky, and Karan, and encourages them to not give up and stay loyal to their loves. He tells them that he has a special love himself, Megha, saying that although she is dead, he imagines her to be by his side every day. One day, as part of his plan to spread love throughout the school, Raj Aryan throws a party and invites the students of the all-girls college. Narayan walks in on the party, shuts it down, and furiously threatens to fire Raj Aryan. At this point, Raj Aryan reveals that he had been a student at Gurukul over a decade earlier and that he had fallen in love with Megha, who happened to be Narayan's one and only daughter. Narayan had expelled Raj Aryan from the school without even seeing his face, and a distraught Megha, unable to live without Raj Aryan, committed suicide. Raj Aryan declares that he has come back to Gurukul to honor Megha's memory by reversing the school's zero-tolerance policy on romance, and promises that before he leaves he will fill the school with so much love that even Narayan will be unable to stop it. A shocked Narayan takes this as a challenge and allows Raj Aryan to remain for a while longer. Sameer, Vicky, and Karan are all able to win over Sanjana, Ishika, and Kiran, respectively, but Narayan retaliates by tightening the rules of Gurukul. The student body, however, encouraged by Raj Aryan, continues to defy the rules, and in a last-ditch effort to preserve the school atmosphere he has built up for 25 years, Narayan expels Sameer, Vicky, and Karan. Raj Aryan speaks up on their behalf, stating that they did nothing wrong by falling in love and accusing Narayan of causing his own daughter's death with his intolerance of love. He also says that he feels Narayan lost the challenge because his daughter left him and now Raj Aryan is leaving him as well. Raj Aryan's harsh words sting Narayan, and he tearfully realizes his strict no-romance policy has been misguided. Narayan apologizes to the student body and resigns as headmaster of Gurukul, nominating Raj Aryan as his successor, who accepts and reconciles with Narayan.
Cast
Amitabh Bachchan as Mr. Narayan Shankar
Shahrukh Khan as Raj Aryan Malhotra
Aishwarya Rai as Megha Shankar
Uday Chopra as Vikram Kapoor/Vikram Oberoi
Shamita Shetty as Ishika Dhanrajgir – Vicky's love interest
Preeti Jhangiani as Kiran Khanna – Karan's love interest
Anupam Kher as Kaake
Archana Puran Singh as Preeto
Amrish Puri as Major General Ajitesh Khanna – Kiran's father-in-law
Shefali Shah as Nandini Khanna – Kiran's sister-in-law
Helen as Miss Monica Khanna
Parzan Dastur as Ayush Khanna - Nandini’s son, Kiran’s nephew
Saurabh Shukla as Tom Uncle - Sanjana's father
Sindhu Tolani as Abhilasha Verma – Ishika's friend
Production
Before the production of the film, Bachchan was attempting a revival of his career with little success, and was also in financial trouble with the bankruptcy of his production company, ABCL, not only hurting his image but leaving him almost penniless. It was at this time that Bachchan contacted his friend, director-producer Yash Chopra, who told him of an upcoming production that he could be in. With Mohabbatein, Bachchan was finally able to shed his "hero" image and to play older, more mature roles. This was also the first film in which Bachchan and Khan appeared together. This created a strong buzz for the film, as it brought two huge stars of different generations together.
Filming
Filming took place in India and England. Longleat, a country house in Wiltshire, England, was used as the location of Gurukul. Oxford and Cambridge Universities were also used for filming. The scene where Narayan Shankar walks right before meeting Raj Aryan was filmed at the Queen's College, Oxford. The railway station scenes were shot at Apta Railway Station in Panvel, Maharashtra, India. The scene where Karan asks for friendship from Kiran was shot at Birla Mandir in Hyderabad, India. It was rumored that Sridevi was approached to be a love interest to Narayan Shankar, but she turned down the role. Midway through the filming of the song "Aankhein Khuli", Jugal Hansraj fractured his foot, which required him to wear a cast for the rest of the filming of the song. Aishwarya Rai was slated to only make a guest appearance, but her presence generated so much interest that her role was promoted to that of a regular character.
Music
The music of Mohabbatein was composed by Jatin Lalit while lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. The album was very well-received by the audience. It was the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the 2000s. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, 5million soundtrack albums were sold. Yash Chopra earned an advance of for the music rights. Music was used extensively throughout the film and features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters.
Track listing
Reception
Box office
Mohabbatein grossed in India and $4.17 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of, against its budget. It had a worldwide opening weekend of, and grossed in its first week. It is the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2000 worldwide.
India
It opened on Friday, 27 October 2000, across 315 screens, and earned nett on its opening day. It grossed nett in its opening weekend, and had a first week of nett. The film earned a total of nett, and was declared "Blockbuster" by Box Office India. It is the 2nd-highest-grossing film of 2000 in India after Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai which grossed nett.
Overseas
It had an opening weekend of $1.16 million and went on to gross $1.63 million in its first week. The film earned a total of $4.17 million at the end of its theatrical run. Overseas, It is the highest-grossing film of 2000.
Critical reception
Mohabbatein received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Savera R Someshwar of Rediff.com commented, "It's a mish-mash alright. But it is also a successful, feelgood film. You'll enjoy yourself as you watch it." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3 out of 5 stars. He praised the conflict between the lead characters and the three love stories depicted in the film but criticized its excessive length.
