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By Taran Adarsh, December 15, 2000 - 10:20 IST
Siddhivinayak Creations' KAHIN PYAAR NA HO JAAYE, directed by K. Murali Mohan Rao, is inspired by director Frank Coraci's Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore-Christine Taylor starrer THE WEDDING SINGER.
KAHIN PYAAR NA HO JAAYE tells the story of Prem (Salman Khan), who earns his livelihood by performing at weddings and functions. He lives with his sister Neelu (Kashmira Shah) and brother-in-law Mohnish Bahl.
Prem is in love with Nisha (Raveena Tandon), but fate has something else in store for them. Nisha walks out on Prem since she needs the money to cure her ailing brother, who is suffering from cancer. The only way to raise funds, as Nisha sees it, is by marrying a wealthy NRI. Nisha deserts Prem on their wedding day. Prem is heartbroken.
Enter Priya (Rani Mukherji), who comes to stay with her cousin Mona (Pooja Batra), an aspiring actress. Mona is the next-door neighbour of Prem and slowly, Prem starts getting attracted to Priya.
But there's a problem again. Priya gets engaged to Ravi (Inder Kumar), who, we are later told, is the same guy Nisha was supposed to marry. Priya is on crossroads since she has also fallen in love with Prem. At this stage, Nisha also walks back on the scene.
So what happens in the final tally?
An interesting plot – a singer who performs at weddings, but is unlucky when it comes to his own wedding – is an ideal subject to suit the Indian tastes. But how one wishes the director and his team of writers would've handled the film with far more maturity and sensitivity. For, the goings-on look contrived and the outcome is mind-numbing.
The negative factors of the film outweigh the positive ones.
To start with, the screenplay is stretched to such an extent that it starts taxing the patience of the viewer. Too much emphasis is given to the scenes showing Jackie and Salman in a state of intoxication, which was just not needed.
Two, the emotional scenes look superficial and the romantic ones don't impress either. Salman sudden interest in Rani looks abrupt and should've been developed with fervour.
Three, the comedy track – Shakti Kapoor and his four kids – is alien to the subject of the film. Hence, it looks like an altogether different track.
Four, the placement of some songs is erratic. The best song of this enterprise – 'Teri Akhiyan Kamaal' – comes at a point when a song was just not required. And what's more, it pops up without a valid situation.
Five, the director and writers have concentrated so much on the characterisation of the two principal characters, that the characterisations of the remaining performers, Jackie Shroff, Raveena Tandon, Pooja Batra, Mohnish Bahl and Inder Kumar, fall flat. They have been used as mere props.
Director K. Murali Mohan Rao, whose last effort – BANDHAN – was indeed laudable, seems to have gone haywire this time. He has chosen the right story without doubt, but the presentation/interpretation is slapdash. Technically, the film is shoddy and even otherwise the dramatic scenes lack the required punch. He is letdown, to a major extent, by his team of writers who have ruined a subject that had ample scope to appeal to the Indian audience.
Himesh Reshammiya's music is not all that inspiring. The 'Akhiyaan Kamaal' number is good to hear but seen in the context of the film's narration, seems like a forced item. Even the picturisation seems like a hasty job. The pick of the lot is indubitably 'Priya', which comes at the right situation. The title track – picturised in Salman Khan's farmhouse in Panvel – has a decent tune and the lush green locales make for visual appeal. Cinematography is passable. Dialogues rely more on clich?
Salman Khan does not impress. He shows sparks in a few scenes only. Rani Mukherji is just about okay, though she looks plump on several occasions. Jackie Shroff is wasted in an inconsequential role. He looks tired and least interested in the goings-on. Pooja Batra is awkward. Inder Kumar continues to be wooden. Mohnish Bahl and Kashmira Shah are adequate. Raveena Tandon is also wasted. What prompted her to accept such an insignificant role is a big question.
On the whole, KAHIN PYAAR NA HO JAAYE stands on a weak foundation – the script – and will thus find the going tough. Its ordinary to dull opening will also add to the woes of its investors.
 
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