Lamhe

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Lamhe (Hindi: लम्हे, Urdu: لمہے, translation: Moments) is a Bollywood film released in 1991, directed by Yash Chopra. The story was written by Honey Irani. The film was critically acclaimed, had exceptional music and did brilliant business in UK. Unfortunately, it was not a box-office success in India. It is one of the few films that picked up The Best Film award at Filmfare despite its lacklustre business.

[edit] Synopsis

The film is about Viren (Anil Kapoor) who travels to Rajasthan with his governess, affectionately called Dai Jaa (Waheeda Rehman). He meets the beautiful Pallavi (Sridevi) and he instantly falls in love with her. However, she also happens to be older than him, though this does not bother Viren. During a property dispute and a court case, Pallavi's father suddenly dies of a heart-attack. She is shattered and goes into isolation. At the wake, Viren goes to console her, when she sees him she runs towards him but runs straight past Viren and goes towards Sidhharth - the man she loves. Viren is heartbroken but to fulfill Pallavi's father's dying wish, he arranges the wedding between Sidhharth and Pallavi. Allowing Pallavi to live her life happily, Viren leaves for London.

However one year into the marriage Sidhharth and Pallavi are both killed in an accident. It was also revealed that she was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a daughter. The girl is named Pooja and is kept in the care of Dai Jaa. A few years later Viren returns from London and meets Pooja for the first time. When he meets her he is shocked to see that she looks exactly like her mother. Eventually Viren brings them both to London and it is slowly revealed that Pooja has fallen in love with Viren, but he has not forgotten about Pallavi....

Viren has a friend (Anupam Kher) who knows that Viren's heart still pines for Dead Pallavi. Over the course of time, after countless times of persuasion slowly Viren hops back to reality engaging himself in work at London. There a girl, Anita, who works along with him falls for him. She knows about Viren's love for Pallavi and constantly tries to gain his attention for she loves him. Pooja and Dai-ja both come to London for vacations and there Anita discovers that Pooja looks the same as Pallavi. This upsets her as she is afraid that Viren will eventually fall for Pooja thinking he has won in love. Pooja on the other hand also develops feelings for Viren whom she lovingly calls "Kuwarji". Virens friend, Anupam Kher as Prem also likes Pooja and also understands that Pooja loves Viren. Though he likes the match, he is skeptical since Viren is still living in his dead past.

There are scenes when Pooja and Anita come face to face over the topic of Viren eventually Anita insulting Pooja as a kid infatuated by Viren and what relation Pooja is to Viren that she acts authoratively over him. Pooja retorts back saying even if she is not related to Viren but Anita is not related to him any way either. This frustrates Anita leading her to blast Viren over feelings for a younger girl. Pooja finds a sketch (which Viren has made of her mother) and misunderstands that is her sketch by Viren. She confronts him and he blasts her saying he had loved her mom and not her. Pooja is heartbroken and decides to return to India. Viren decides to marry Anita since he feels she is right and has been waiting for him for long. Pooja cant bear this and decides to get married too only on condition that Viren marries Anita first.

The Climax shows a heartbroken Pooja narrating a folk tale to audience in a village show. She suddenly notices Viren in the audience and becomes very happy. Viren has eventually realised after Pooja has left London that he loves her now as she is and not her mother anymore, who in fact had never loved him.

The film finds a place in the Times Movie Guide's Top 100 Indian films. It is also in the Outlook magazine's list of All-Time Great Indian films

[edit] Cast

• Anil Kapoor ... Viren
• Sridevi ... Pallavi/Pooja
• Waheeda Rehman ... Dai Jaa
• Anupam Kher ... Prem
• Deepak Malhotra ... Siddharth Bhatnagar
• Dippy Sagoo ... Anita Malhotra
• Ila Arun ... Gypsy
• Richa Pallod ... Young Pooja

[edit] Awards

[edit] 1992 Filmfare Awards

• Best Actress - Sridevi
• Best Comedian - Anupam Kher
• Best Movie - Yash Chopra
• Best Screenplay - Honey Irani
• Best Dialogue - Dr. Rahi Masoom Reza
• Nominated Best Director - Yash Chopra
• Nominated Best Actor - Anil Kapoor
• Nominated Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Waheeda Rehman

[edit] Trivia

• "Cited as Yash Chopra's personal favourite along with Silsila. The two commercial failures in an otherwise impeccable cinematic cv in the Chopra empire." - From the book 'Yash Chopra - Fifty years in Indian Cinema' by Rachel Dwyer.
• The song kabhi main kahon is made from a tune or a background music part used in Yash Chopra's previous movie Chandni.
• It was the first Indian film to do excellent business in the international market.
• It is in the Outlook magazine's list of All-Time Great Indian films.
• Anil Kapoor shaved off his moustache while playing the young Viren in the first half.
• Before Anil Kapoor, Yash Chopra had approached Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna for the role.
• Sridevi's father passed away while she was shooting for the film in London. She came for his last rites and returned after 16 days. And on arriving the very first scene she did was a comedy scene with Waheed Rehman.
• In the famous Parody Sequence, Waheeda Rehman danced to "Aaj Phir Jeene ki Tamanna Hai" - the superhit number from her own classic Guide.
• Anita's role was played by Dippy Sagoo, a Britain based Indian actress.
• Sridevi won the International Academy's Best Actress Award and the Sunday Observer Best Actress Award for the film.
• Costume designer Neeta Lulla won the National Award for Sridevi's breath-taking costumes.
• Dr. Reza, won the Filmfare Best Dialogues Award posthumously.

[edit] External links

• Lamhe at the Internet Movie Database

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